In 1980–81 he was made club captain,[3] but he left on a free transfer at the end of the season after 195 league games, in which time he scored 43 goals.
[3] Terry Dolan became interested in coaching while he was a player and he helped to improve the fortunes of East Bowling Unity in the Bradford Amateur Sunday League,[3] before he started his managerial career in a player-coach position at Harrogate Town.
In his first full season, the club finished fourth, narrowly missing out on promotion to the top flight for the first time in 66 years.
He helped Rochdale to a record FA Cup run in 1989–90 and mid-table finish but lost support the following season when he introduced Chris Lee, the son of his assistant, to the side.
[8] He was a consultant / coach to the St Vincent and Grenadines national team as they progressed through qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup and head of recruitment for Notts County (2014/5 season).
The role included sitting as a panel member for tribunals to settle transfer disputes between clubs and later for the Premier League as a match delegate, assessing referees.