Born in Liverpool, McFarland developed his skills at Tranmere Rovers, before stints at Derby County and Bradford City.

Under the management duo of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, he was instrumental in Derby County's ascendancy to the First Division in 1969, subsequently leading them to league triumphs in 1972 and 1975, albeit his contribution was limited in the latter due to injury.

Internationally, McFarland represented England, earning 28 caps and participating in notable matches, including a contentious encounter with Poland's Włodzimierz Lubański in 1973.

He was famous during the late 1960s and 1970s as a central defender in the Derby side which won promotion to the First Division in 1969 and followed this success with two league titles; the first under Clough in 1972 and the second under Dave Mackay in 1975, though injury meant he was only able to make four appearances during the latter campaign.

He played 40 games for Bradford in a brief spell as manager which brought the club promotion in 1981–82 via the runners-up spot in the Fourth Division.

Bolton had just been promoted to the Premier League under previous manager Bruce Rioch, and McFarland was unable to establish them at this level despite making several new signings.

He left the club after the poor set of results on 12 March 2007,[6] leaving caretaker boss Lee Richardson to try and save the struggling Chesterfield.

[8] McFarland eventually helped to extend Burton's unbeaten run to 17 games, which dated back to October 2008, before his side were beaten 2–0 by his former team Cambridge United in March 2009.