Lawrence was a semi-professional at Croydon, Carshalton Athletic and Sutton United before becoming caretaker manager of Plymouth Argyle in 1978.
Lawrence turned out at non-league level for Croydon, Carshalton Athletic and Sutton United during his semi-professional career.
[2] During his first few years in charge, the club was in a poor financial situation and came close to going out of business in 1984, and even left its home ground, The Valley, in 1985.
[2] They avoided relegation and made a reasonable start to the 2001–02 season, and caused an upset in the League Cup third round by knocking out holders Liverpool 2–1 after extra time at Anfield, scoring with a Phil Jevons wonder-goal in the last minute.
[8] During the opening weeks of the 2001–02 season, his Grimsby side had briefly led Division One, sparking hopes that he could repeat the promotion success he achieved at Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough with a much smaller club.
[2] In his first full season in charge, Lawrence took Cardiff to promotion after beating Queens Park Rangers in the 2003 Football League Second Division play-off final.
[13] On 3 February 2025, Lawrence announced that he had stepped back from his role to allow head coach Anthony Limbrick to take over as manager.
[14] After acting as a consultant at Cardiff for a while, he was appointed Director of Football at Bristol Rovers, working alongside coach Paul Trollope in a two-tier managerial structure.
[17] In August 2010 Lawrence joined non-league Carshalton Athletic in a football consultancy role, assisting manager Mark Butler.
Four months later he was appointed technical director at Hereford United in League Two, to assist new manager Jamie Pitman.
[22] A remarkable turnaround in the remaining 12 league games saw Newport complete the Great Escape and avoid relegation with a win against Notts County with a 89th-minute winner on the final day of the 2016–17 season.
[26] §: Joint caretaker manager with Curtis Fleming Charlton Athletic Middlesbrough Cardiff City Individual