As a player, he was a goalkeeper who notably played in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Manchester City.
He also played in the Football League with Hull City, Reading, Wrexham and Bolton Wanderers, as well as in his native country with Linfield.
He guided St Johnstone to their win in the 2014 Scottish Cup Final, which won the first major national trophy in their history; he left his role there in May 2020.
Injuries blighted his playing career, and he found dislodging other goalkeepers, once he regained fitness, difficult or impossible.
Wright had not played an international match in over two years prior to that point and had just returned to club action, on loan at Reading, after a prolonged injury absence.
Wright was then appointed manager of Ballymena United and reached the County Antrim Shield against Linfield at Seaview.
He was a full-time goalkeeping coach at Shamrock Rovers for the 2009 League of Ireland season under his former teammate Michael O'Neill.
Wright left Distillery in November 2011 to become assistant manager of Scottish Premier League club St Johnstone.
[15][16] After Wright led the club to a top-six position in the Premiership, he guided them to their first Scottish Cup Final after a 2–1 win over Aberdeen.
[22] St Johnstone secured a third successive fourth-place finish in the Premiership in 2016–17 under Wright, with two games remaining, also qualifying for Europe again.