Nicknamed "Terry Mac",[1] he is best known as a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, where he won three European Cups and five First Division titles.
Either side of his time at Anfield, he played for Newcastle United, with his second stint seeing him reunite with former Liverpool teammate Kevin Keegan.
McDermott returned to Newcastle again to be one of Graeme Souness' assistants and remained with the club until 2008, which included a short reunion with Keegan.
Liverpool boss Bob Paisley, in his first season in charge after replacing Bill Shankly, brought McDermott to Merseyside in November 1974.
McDermott made his Liverpool debut on 16 November, as did Phil Neal, in a Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park.
[3] There was joy for McDermott four days later, though, when he opened the scoring in the European Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach as Liverpool won 3–1.
[4] On 6 December 1977, he scored a hat-trick in the second leg of Liverpool's victory over Hamburg in the UEFA Super Cup Final.
Forest held on to win 1–0 and McDermott offered to swear on oath in an after-match interview that he had trapped the ball legally with his chest.
Liverpool were defending a corner which was cleared from their own penalty area to striker David Johnson, who hit a long pass to the sprinting winger Steve Heighway on the left flank as McDermott started to chase forward.
In 1981, McDermott featured as Liverpool beat West Ham United after a replay to win the League Cup for the first time.
On 7 September 1977, Ron Greenwood gave McDermott his debut for England in a 0–0 friendly draw with Switzerland at Wembley Stadium.
McDermott was also picked for the England squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain but did not play, despite having featured in every qualifying game.
Together, the two masterminded a return to the top of the English game for Newcastle, which included a close run to the League title in 1996, eventually won by Manchester United.
[16] On 19 December 2008, McDermott was named assistant manager of League One side Huddersfield Town, effectively becoming Lee Clark's right-hand man.