Halifax Town; he also had a spell playing in India for I-League side Bengaluru and represented the Republic of Ireland under-18, under-19 and under-21 teams.
[3] He came on as a substitute in the FA Cup third round tie in January 2006 against Premier League champions Chelsea,[3] and set-up Gary Taylor-Fletcher for an equaliser.
[citation needed] On 16 February 2008, Collins equalised Frank Lampard's goal on the stroke of half-time in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
[6] A week later, Collins scored his first league goal of the season, with a 90th-minute winner in a 2–1 win at Elland Road against local rivals Leeds United.
[7] Collins was ruled out for the remainder of 2009–10 in April 2010, following surgery on a broken finger,[citation needed] but he returned as a substitute in the 2–1 defeat at Exeter City.
[11] Appleton said: "Michael has played 300 league games, most of them at a higher level, and will bring a little bit of know-how and quality to the squad.
"[11] He made 43 appearances for Oxford, scoring twice, before joining their League Two rivals York City on 2 October 2015 on a one-month loan.
[citation needed] However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad after picking up a shoulder injury in a league match for Huddersfield against Brighton & Hove Albion.
[citation needed] Collins made his under-21 debut against Germany in a friendly match at the Sportpark Ronhof in Fürth on 21 August 2007.
[21] He was appointed head coach of Bradford City on 18 June 2018, with Martin Drury and Greg Abbott named as his assistants.
In January 2022, and following Paul Heckingbottoms promotion to the manager of the football club, Collins was appointed the lead under 21 coach.
They then narrowly missed out on the Professional Development League National Title, losing 2-1 to Millwall FC in extra time.
They succeeded in doing the double of Professional Development League North Champions, as well as beating Birmingham City 2-0 in the National Title Final.