An every blade of grass covering, hard tackling midfielder who hates to lose out in the challenge, McKinlay began his career in Scotland with Hamilton Thistle before signing professional terms with Dundee United as a youngster in 1985.
The player spent ten years at Tannadice before joining Blackburn Rovers for £1.75million in October 1995.
He performed well in the midfield anchor role for a couple of seasons until a serious groin injury kept him out of much of the end of 1998/99 and just about all of 1999/2000.
A full Scotland International, he played in the 1998 World Cup finals. He made his debut against Malta in 1994.
McKinlay was loaned out to Premiership side Leicester City in October 2000, making one appearance for the club in a 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace in the Worthington Cup.
The loan spell was cut short when Bradford City came in to sign him on a free transfer. He was Jim Jefferies' first signing at Valley Parade in November 2000.
During his time with Blackburn he made just 76 League starts in five years.
McKinlay signed a deal until the end of the season, with the option of an extension if he played in 60 per cent of the club's games.
However, McKinlay played just the 12 games for Bradford and was released in May 2001.
After that he had a very brief spell with Preston North End before joining Clydebank in November 2001 on a short-term contract.
Without a club at the start of the 2002/03 season, he agreed to return to cash-strapped Leicester City - playing for nothing at first in the hope of winning a contract.
After making his debut in a 2-0 home win over Watford, he soon became a vital part of the squad that won promotion to the Premiership and at the end of the season was offered a new deal by boss Micky Adams.
He also scored his first goal for six years with a 25-yard thunderbolt against Coventry in March of that season.
- WHO'S WHO