Despite such outstanding achievements over the previous campaign, the return of McFarland to full fitness for the following season saw Daniel return to his status as back-up for his remaining four years at the club, as his made 49 appearances between 1975 and 1979, often filling in at fullback. Daniel's final first team appearance was on 16 December 1978 in a 2–0 defeat by Arsenal at Highbury. In all competitions he made 246 appearances for Derby, including nine as a substitute, during his 15 years at the Baseball Ground. Whenever selected he demonstrated a rugged determined style of play which rarely let down any of the five County managers he worked under.
