Brian McColligan (born 31 October 1980) is a Scottish

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 ...

er who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. McColligan's footballing career started when he was a seventeen-year-old, in the youth ranks of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, where he was a squad member from 1997 to 2001. Having made one appearance for Celtic, during the 1999–2000 season, he was signed on loan by

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...

halfway through the 2000–01 season. A successful three-month spell saw him score one goal, against future club Queen of the South, from deep in midfield. Subsequently, McColligan's career was to take him away from Celtic Park and to

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

, who he joined in September 2001. At Clydebank he scored once against

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...

. In the close season of 2002 McColligan signed for Queen of the South, who had just been promoted from Division Two. This was the perfect opportunity for the team to build on the squad with which they wished to consolidate their league status, and McColligan, along with then-teammates

Eric Paton Eric John Paton (born 1 August 1978 in Glasgow) is a Scottish retired professional footballer. Paton developed into a right back, a position that ex-''Queens'' manager John Connolly favoured the former right sided midfielder in. However his ver ...

and Martin Glancy, was to prove part of the team's plans. Queen of the South were, in that same season, to win the Scottish League Challenge Cup, with McColligan a member of the victorious final team. McColligan lasted in the Queen of the South team until November 2005. Immediately after what was to prove his final game, a 5–2 defeat to Hamilton Academical, in which he was sent off, McColligan signed for

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a ...

, in an attempt to save the team from relegation. While Alloa finished second-bottom in the 2005–06 table, they won the playoff final against

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

, consolidating their position in the Second Division. While Alloa continue to occupy the lower half of Division Two, McColligan struggles for goal-scoring form, something which has eluded him since his days at Queen of the South. McColligan remains a tough-tackling midfielder who gels the team together with his attacking attitude as much as his popularity with the fans. In July 2007 McColligan left Alloa to sign for Bathgate Thistle. He won the Scottish Junior Cup in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

with Thistle, after the team defeated

Cumnock Juniors Cumnock Juniors Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Cumnock, Ayrshire. The Nock play their home games at Townhead Park and compete in the West of Scotland Football League. History Birthed in 1912, they have a history of local ...

2–1 at Rugby Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McColligan, Brian 1980 births Living people Scottish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Scottish Football League players Celtic F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Alloa Athletic F.C. players Bathgate Thistle F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players