up two goals and hit the post with his one shot. He began the 2006–07 season as a regular first team player for Crewe, now in League One, under manager Dario Gradi. He scored his first senior goal on 22 August, in the League Cup, with a "fierce shot" from 18-yards in a 3–0 victory over Grimsby Town. In all he made 34 appearances during the campaign. O'Connor was not a regular first team player under new boss Steve Holland in the first half of the 2007–08 campaign, but won back his first team spot in the second half of the season. He was named in the League One 'Team of the Week' in March 2008 for his performance in a 3–0 win over Gillingham. After scoring his first league goal for the club on 13 September 2008 in a 2–0 victory over Colchester United, he went on to score in the next two games against Southend United and then against Liverpool in a 2–1 League Cup defeat at Anfield. However, he fell out of favour at Crewe under manager Guðjón Þórðarson after committing "breaches of discipline". O'Connor joined Peter Jackson's League Two side Lincoln City on a one-month emergency loan on 6 March 2009, a day before a Lincolnshire derby against Grimsby, as a short-term replacement for Lee Frecklington. O'Connor returned from Sincil Bank on 18 April after he was suspended for picking up 10 yellow cards that season, and subsequently trained with Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. Scunthorpe United In July 2009, Crewe accepted an undisclosed offer (later revealed to be £250,000) for O'Connor from Scunthorpe United, and he signed a three-year contract with the club. He went on to make 36 appearances for Scunthorpe in the 2009–10 campaign, helping Nigel Adkins's "Iron" to finish above the Championship relegation zone. Scunthorpe struggled in the 2010–11 season following Atkins's departure, and Ian Baraclough and then Alan Knill failed to keep the club outside the relegation places. This was despite O'Connor significantly improving his goal tally, hitting nine goals in his 36 appearances. Premier League clubs West Ham United and Newcastle United were linked with O'Connor during the January transfer window, but Baraclough confirmed that no formal approaches were made. In the summer the club rejected an undisclosed bid from Peterborough United. He played 36 games at Glanford Park in the 2011–12 season as Scunthorpe laboured to a mid-table finish