Hull City
On 25 November 2010, Stewart joined Hull City of the Championship on loan until 4 January 2011. [9] He made his debut for the "Tigers" on 27 November in a 2–2 draw away at Middlesbrough. [10] Hull City extended his loan until the end of the 2010–11 season after a string of good displays. [11] On 31 January 2011, Stewart signed for Hull City on a permanent basis, for a fee believed to be in the region of around £300,000. [12] However, on 19 February, he suffered cruciate ligament damage in a 1–1 draw at Ipswich Town, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season and the start of the following season. [13] [14]
After spending over nine months on the sidelines, Stewart returned to first-team action on 19 November 2011, and scored his first goal in senior football in a 2–0 win at Derby County after cutting inside from the left. [15] He scored his second goal for Hull in a 3–1 FA Cup win over Ipswich Town at the KC Stadium on 7 January. [16] Following some good performances after his comeback from injury, Stewart was subject to a bid from Leicester City – managed by former Hull boss Nigel Pearson, understood to be £1.5 million, [17] which was rejected, with Hull warning that the winger was "not for sale". [18] After heavy speculation, Stewart remained at Hull and played frequently for the rest of the 2011–12 season under manager Nick Barmby, and said he was "really happy" at the club. [19]
After a few appearances for Hull under manager Steve Bruce, new signings meant that Stewart's opportunities at the club became limited, and he joined Championship rivals Burnley on loan on 31 August 2012. [20] After starting two out of three of his first games at Turf Moor, his appearances became increasingly limited and he failed to play again for the "Clarets" after Sean Dyche replaced Eddie Howe as manager; as a result Hull manager Bruce commented that "he's probably going to come back to us in January and we'll see where things go. It's been disappointing for all parties. He went out to play games with Burnley and that's just not happened for him". [21] Upon returning to Hull in January, Stewart started in a 1–1 home draw with Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, following which Bruce was critical of Stewart's match fitness. [22] On 1 March 2013, Stewart joined Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers on loan for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. [23] He made his debut for Michael Appleton's "Riversiders" as a second-half substitute for Danny Murphy in a 3–2 defeat to Peterborough United at Ewood Park on 2 March. [24] After Hull City's promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2012–13 season, Stewart was strongly linked with a move to Scottish Premier League club Celtic. [25]
On 2 September 2013, Stewart moved on loan to Championship club Charlton Athletic until January 2014. [26] He scored on his debut for the "Addicks" on 17 September, in a 2–1 defeat at Huddersfield Town, after coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Richard Wood. [27] He made his first start on 28 September against his former club Burnley, playing the first 83 minutes of a 3–0 away defeat. [28] On 9 November, Stewart scored a volley from distance in a 4–2 defeat to Leeds United at The Valley. [29] Speaking at the end of December, Charlton manager Chris Powell said he was optimistic of extending Stewart's stay at the club. [30]
Leeds United loan
On 9 January 2013, Stewart signed an initial three-month emergency loan at Championship side Leeds United, with a permanent deal on a three-year contract starting at the end of the 2013–14 season; he was the first signing made by manager Brian McDermott under the brief ownership of the Sports Capital consortium. [31] [32] The deal was initially only on a loan basis to circumvent FIFA rules that prevented Stewart from signing a permanent contract at a club after already representing two other clubs (Hull City and Charlton Athletic) in the 2013–14 season. [33] He made his debut for the "Whites" on 11 January, in a 6–0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. [34]
He made 11 appearances during his loan spell at Elland Road, before new owner Massimo Cellino decided to cancel the permanent transfer. [35] Stewart sued Leeds United, and was awarded £750,000 in compensation, the entirety of his three-year contract. [36]
Ipswich Town
On 1 July 2014, Stewart joined Championship side Ipswich Town on a three-year contract. [37] Just before the beginning of the 2014–15 season, he broke his jaw and was ruled out of action for the first six weeks of the campaign. [38] Stewart made his debut for the "Blues" as a 62nd-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw at Southampton in the FA Cup on 4 January 2015. [39] On 21 March, Stewart joined League One side Barnsley on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. [40] He made four appearances for Lee Johnson's "Tykes", before returning to Ipswich.
On 28 August 2015, Stewart joined Paul Dickov's Doncaster Rovers on loan until January. [41] He made his debut the following day as a substitute in a 2–0 win over Fleetwood Town at the Keepmoat Stadium. [42] On 14 January, Stewart extended his loan to the end of the 2015–16 season. [43] He credited Rovers manager Darren Ferguson for his decision to stay on at the club, and Ferguson said that Stewart offered good cover for wing-back Felipe Mattioni. [44] [45] However two days later Stewart was hospitalized with whiplash after he landed on his head during a match against Gillingham. [46] He made a total of 28 appearances for "Donny", scoring four goals, as the club were relegated out of League One. On 31 August 2016, Stewart was released by Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy, having made just two FA Cup appearances throughout his two years at Portman Road. [47]
