He spent one and half years at Eastville Stadium making 99 appearances scoring 13 goals before leaving for AFC Bournemouth in March 1986.

O'Connor spent five seasons at Dean Court making 148 appearances and helped the Cherries win the Third Division title in 1986–87.

He broke his leg against Fulham on 25 November 1995 in a tackle with Martin Thomas which resulted in his retirement from playing just over a year later.

[5] He spent a season at Plymouth before moving back to Stoke City with Pulis to become one of his first-team coaches alongside former teammate Adrian Pennock in June 2006.

[8] In January 2015 O'Connor joined West Bromwich Albion to work again with Pulis and Kemp.