Alan Nigel Kernaghan (born 25 April 1967) is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager and former professional player.
As a player, he was a
defender from 1985 to 2006, notably in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
for
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
and in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
,
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
,
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
and
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
. He played the final nine years of his career playing in Scotland with
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
,
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...
,
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
,
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
,
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
and
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. Born in England, he was capped 26 times by the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, scoring one goal.
During his coaching career, Kernaghan has managed Scottish clubs Clyde and Dundee, and
Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882.
History
Early history
In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
in the Northern Irish league, which he resigned from after an embarrassing 3–2 defeat to struggling Championship side Annagh United. He has also worked for other clubs in a variety of coaching roles.
Club career
Born in
Otley
Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England, Kernaghan moved with his family to Bangor, County Down at the age of four. He represented
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
at schoolboy level and the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
at senior level. He began his playing career as an apprentice at
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
, and went on to make 212 appearances during an eight-year period, scoring 16 goals.
In September 1993, Kernaghan was signed for
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
by then-boss
Brian Horton
Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...
. He went on loan to various clubs—
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
in 1994,
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
in 1996, and then to
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
in 1997. The Saints signed him on a permanent deal just before the end of the year, after he was given a free transfer from Manchester City. He enjoyed four years at
McDiarmid Park
McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of .
As well as St Jo ...
, making 60 league appearances and scoring five goals.
Kernaghan then joined
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...
, but he made only three competitive appearances for the club. He then moved to
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
, where he started as a player but was promoted to a player/manager role in the 2003–04 season. He guided Clyde to a second-placed finish in the
First Division, behind
Inverness Caley Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Fo ...
, a division which they led for the majority of the season. Kernaghan made 63 appearances for Clyde as a player, scoring three goals.
Kernaghan's next move was to
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
as assistant manager to
Allan Preston
Allan Preston (born 16 August 1969) is a retired Scottish professional footballer and manager. He is currently a radio sports pundit for BBC Scotland.
Playing career
Preston, who predominantly played at left-back, began his career as a 15-y ...
.
He was on a player/assistant manager role at the club, making four first team appearances for Livingston, but he was sacked along with Preston after a poor run of results.
Kernaghan next moved to
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
, where he took up a player/coach role. He made nine appearances for the Bairns but left the club on 2 September 2005.
International career
Brought up in Bangor, Northern Ireland, Kernaghan played for Northern Ireland Schoolboys six times. However, as the
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.
...
policy at the time did not select players who were not or whose parents were not born in Northern Ireland, he wasn't selected for the senior team.
[Kernaghan youth role breaks Rangers taboo](_blank)
by Paul Rowan, The Sunday Times, 31 December 2006 Due to his grandmother being an Irish citizen he was entitled to Irish citizenship, and he was selected by
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
to play for the Republic of Ireland. Kernaghan earned 22 caps,
scored one goal and was selected for the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
.
Managerial and coaching career
Kernaghan left Clyde to take up the role as manager of
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. He was removed from the position, after an unsuccessful spell, in April 2006. Kernaghan became the first former Republic of Ireland player to hold a coaching role at
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
.
He left this position in February 2012 to join
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
. Kernaghan made an appearance as a player during a 2013–14 pre-season friendly versus FC Einheit Rudolstadt, replacing
Aaron Pierre
Aaron Jordan Pierre (born 17 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for League Two club Sutton United and the Grenada national team.
He began his career in the academy at Premier League club Fulham, before join ...
after 65 minutes. He left Brentford in December 2013, after new manager
Mark Warburton
Mark Warburton (born 6 September 1962) is an English professional football manager and former player who is a first-team coach at West Ham United.
As a player, Warburton was a right back at non-League level with Enfield and Boreham Wood. He beg ...
decided to make changes to the club's coaching staff.
Kernaghan was appointed manager of
Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882.
History
Early history
In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
in November 2015.
Losing to Annagh United in the League Cup on 30 August 2016 was the final game in charge for Kernaghan, he then tendered his resignation after the game.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Interview regarding nationalityFirst interview as Glentoran Manager
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kernaghan, Alan
1967 births
Living people
British people of Irish descent
People from Otley
Association football defenders
Republic of Ireland association footballers
Association footballers from Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland international footballers
1994 FIFA World Cup players
Republic of Ireland international footballers from Northern Ireland
Middlesbrough F.C. players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
St Johnstone F.C. players
Brechin City F.C. players
Falkirk F.C. players
Livingston F.C. players
Clyde F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
Scottish Premier League players
Scottish Football League players
Scottish Football League managers
Clyde F.C. managers
Dundee F.C. managers
Rangers F.C. non-playing staff
Livingston F.C. non-playing staff
Brentford F.C. managers
Glentoran F.C. managers
Football managers from Northern Ireland