Dougan was a late arrival to football and arrived at City in September 1963 from Queens Park, spending just over three years as a Fox before moving on to play for Luton Town, Dunstable Town and Bedford Town. He scored twice in nine City appearances.
He left the army to start playing as an amateur with Queens Park and trained with Leicester for a few months until he was eligible to sign pro forms with the club. A defender by trade, he actually made his Leicester debut as an emergency striker and helped the club to progress to their League Cup success. He reverted to his centre-back position in time for the first leg of the final against Stoke.
His chances of a regular starting role were, however, thwarted by the good form of Ian King and John Sjoberg and it was his performances at full-back that caught the attention of Luton, where he went on to enjoy a relatively good career.