 Stokes began his senior career with Arsenal, but established himself with a successful loan spell with Falkirk in 2006, scoring 14 goals in 16 SPL games.Stokes then signed for Sunderland in a £2 million deal, but he struggled to hold down a place in the Sunderland first team.He moved back to Scottish football when Hibernian signed him for £500,000 in August 2009.