Paul signed for the Hatters after the departure of Luton Town striker Dean Crowe to Oldham Athletic allowed the Hatters manager Mike Newell to sign a new player, and he beat off the competition of Oldham Athletic and Peterborough United to sign the former Enfield player.

Paul began his career with Carshalton Athletic, and after spells at Sutton United, Dorking and Molesey, he moved to Enfield – but a year later he was on the move again, joining Rushden & Diamonds from Enfield for £50,000 in the summer of 1997 and he quickly became an England semi-professional international and made over 200 appearances during his time at Nene Park.

He made his debut for Rushden & Diamonds during the 1998-99 season and he went on to make 36 League appearances, scoring 2 goals.

In 1999-00, he netted 4 goals in 41 League appearances as Brian Talbot’s side narrowly missed out on gaining promotion to the Football League.

However, they set this right the following season as they won the Conference title, Paul captaining the side to the Championship and netting 3 goals in 25 appearances along the way.

The 2001-02 season saw him help the Diamonds retain their status as a Football League club – and in fact, they reached the play-off final and only a 1-3 loss to Cheltenham Town at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff prevented the Nene Park-based side from gaining a second successive promotion. Paul helped the club immensely, making 43 League appearances and earning himself a reputation as one of the most highly-rated left-back’s in the Third Division. In fact, he was even tracked as a possible target by then Luton boss Joe Kinnear, although the move never materialised.

However, he did help the club gain promotion in 2002-03, captaining the side as they won the Third Division Championship, pipping Hartlepool United – managed then by Hatters boss Mike Newell – to the Championship. He netted one goal that season in 40 League appearances.

After making 30 League appearances for the Diamonds during the 2003-04 season – taking his total League appearances for the club to over 200 – he made the move to Kenilworth Road.

Speaking on his move to Luton Town, Paul said, “Rushden & Diamonds are in a little bit of trouble and they wanted to get people off of the wage bill and I said they could let me go if they want.

“There were a few other clubs interested in me, but Luton tickled my fancy as they’re a massive club. I also know Mick (Harford) and Mike (Newell).

“I started at Carshalton, Sutton, Dorking, Molesey as I was part-time then and then I had a year at Enfield and then moved to Rushden and I’ve been in the professional games six years now and I know what it is like to be part-time and to struggle and I just want to get on with it here now.”

Able to play in a whole host of positions, Paul was hoping he could help the Hatters gain a Second Division (League One) play-off place.

However, he endured a very frustrating start to his Luton Town career as he was injured just 19 minutes into his debut in a 1-1 draw at Queen’s Park Rangers just two days after joining the club from Rushden & Diamonds – and the injury forced him to miss the remainder of the 2003-04 season.

Paul, like almost all of the Luton Town squad, had a superb season during the 2004-05 campaign as the Hatters ran away with the League One Championship in Paul’s first full season as a Luton player!

Operating on the left-hand side of midfield, and forming an excellent partnership with Sol Davis down the left, Paul was a regular in the side when available for selection and he weighed in with not only numerous goal assists, but also with some important goals – most notably the winner on the opening day of the season as Oldham Athletic were beaten 2-1 at Kenilworth Road. That goal got the ball rolling and paved the way for the most memorable season at Kenilworth Road for years.

Appearing in 37 of Luton’s 46 League matches during the season, Paul scored a further four goals – netting in a 2-1 home win over Peterborough United, in a 1-2 home loss to Huddersfield Town (the first League defeat suffered by the Hatters in the season and it came in mid-October!), in a 4-0 home victory over Bradford City and once again against Oldham in a 2-2 draw at Boundary Park.

A favourite with the Hatters fans, his contribution was there for all to see and he was a member of a Luton side that was undoubtedly the best for a number of years – possibly since the great side of the 1980s.

Paul had another solid season for Luton Town in 2005-06 when available, but unfortunately his season was blighted by injuries.

He began the season at left-back in the absence of the injured Sol Davis, operating behind Dean Morgan down the left-hand side. Giving an excellent account of himself as always and helping the Hatters make a sensational start to the new season, Paul had carried on the fine form he displayed the previous season when helping the Hatters storm to the League One title.

However, he was hit with injuries that forced him to miss over two months of the season and, coupled with injuries to other key players, it saw Luton’s season spiral downwards, although they did still finish in a highly respectable 10th place in the Championship.

Making 29 League appearances, Paul didn’t manage to get on the score sheet, although he did spend the majority of the season operating in defence.

Unfortunately for Paul, he suffered massively during the 2006-07 season and had to watch agonisingly from the sidelines as Luton Town were relegated from the Championship. A routine knee operation during the pre-season period became a nightmare when it became infected and caused Paul to lose over two stone in weight. The effects forced him to miss the entire 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons and his loss was a real blow to the Hatters.

Despite being injured for the entire season, Paul had shown enough during his two years at Kenilworth Road to persuade the then Hatters boss Mike Newell to give him a new two-year contract, which he duly signed, keeping him with Luton Town until the summer of 2009.

Paul was back in light training and was hoping to be back in contention by November 2008.

However, his injury was worse than first feared and, in early October 2008, he realised he would not be able to play for Luton Town in their fight for League survival during the 2008-09 campaign and he agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent with the club.

A player whose work often went unnoticed, Paul was a consistent performer and the talented former Rushden & Diamonds man made 67 League appearances for Luton Town, scoring 5 goals.