Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...
.
Over the course of his career he has also played for
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
and
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
. Between his spells at Dundee and Morton, Young played two trial matches for Queen of the South.
Young has also managed several clubs, being in charge of Albion Rovers and East Fife in the Scottish lower leagues.
Playing career
Aberdeen
Young grew up in
Whitlawburn
Whitlawburn is a residential area in the town of Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located south of the town centre on high ground overlooking the Greater Glasgow urban area.
Location and housing
The majority of the housing is a ...
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
(where he was later to be joined by younger brother
Derek
Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler".
Common variants of the name ar ...
), joining the senior squad after a loan spell at Crombie Sports on 29 February 1996. He made a quick impact, making his first team debut against Hearts in August 1996, aged only 17. Young's prodigious development which had seen him awarded several Scotland Under-21 caps was hindered however, by a serious knee injury which required three separate operations to repair.
Young made a successful return to the Aberdeen first team in 2000, by which stage his brother Derek was also an established member of Ebbe Skovdahl's resurgent side. Darren was soon awarded the captaincy and led the ''Dons'' to a 4th-place finish in the league in the 2001–02 season. This ensured
European football
UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...
returned to
Pittodrie
Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...
and Young increased his continental appearances to 10, as Aberdeen played FC Nistru Otaci and
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charlo ...
in the
2002–03 UEFA Cup
The 2002–03 UEFA Cup was the 32nd edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, the second-tier European club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA. The 2003 UEFA Cup Final, final was played between Portuguese side FC Porto ...
.
Dunfermline Athletic
Darren and his brother Derek both joined
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
in July 2003, as part of
Jimmy Calderwood
James Calderwood (born 28 February 1955) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a player, Cal ...
's new-look side. They were part of the team defeated 3–1 by Celtic in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hampden Park in May 2004. Young was once again blighted by injuries the following season but helped the ''Pars'' retain their
SPL
SPL may refer to:
Association football
* Saudi Professional League
* Scottish Premier League
* SportPesa Premier League, Kenya
* Singapore Premier League
* RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots
Computing Program ...
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
Final where Celtic again proved too strong – Young scored the winning goal in the semis, but did not play in that final due to a foot injury.
In July 2006, his brother was released by Dunfermline (eventually signing for St Johnstone), ensuring the Young brothers would play separately for the first time in their professional careers. In the 2007 Scottish Cup Final, Dunfermline and Young lost to Celtic in a major final for the third time in quick succession, with the player receiving the small consolation of the
Man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
award. The club had already been relegated from the top division weeks earlier.
After defeat in another cup final, this time in the 2007–08 Scottish Challenge Cup, in May 2008 Young rejected Dunfermline's final contract offer meaning he would leave
East End Park
East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of .
The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Championship ...
after five years with the ''Pars''.
Dundee
In May 2008, Young signed for First Division club Dundee. Young was sent off after three minutes into his debut for Dundee, during a league match against Clyde at
Broadwood Stadium
Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...
after pulling back an opponent. He was released by the club on 4 May 2010.
Later playing career
Young featured in two games as a trialist for Dumfries club Queen of the South early in the 2010–11 season, during the reign of Kenny Brannigan's management. In the second game for the
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...
club he was substituted due to injury after 10 minutes. Young then went on trial at
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
after a spate of injuries to their midfield. He was offered training facilities and the possibility of trial matches. After playing well in his three games, he was signed until the end of the year. After a dozen league appearances, Young was released in May 2011.
Young signed for
Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire.
Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...
in July 2011. He was appointed captain and led the team to the Third Division title in the 2011–12 season.
player/manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
of
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club Albion Rovers in June 2014. In his first match in charge, he scored the winning penalty as Albion Rovers beat Airdrieonians 4–2 on penalties following a 2–2 draw in the Scottish Challenge Cup on 26 July 2014. Young won the League Two championship and promotion in his first season as a manager, sealing the league with a 3–2 win against Clyde.
On getting his team promoted into
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
, despite budget restraints and low expectations Young led Albion Rovers to their best start to a third tier season in the club's history, taking 28 points from their first 17 games and placed third. They finished the
2015–16 Scottish League One
The 2015–16 Scottish League One (referred to as the Ladbrokes League One for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st season in the current format of 10 teams in the third-tier of Scottish football.
Teams
Promoted from Scottish League Two
* Albion Ro ...
season in sixth place. Towards the end of the 2016–17 season, Albion Rovers announced that Young would leave the club as they had failed to agree a new contract.
East Fife
Shortly after leaving Albion Rovers, Young was appointed manager of
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was ...
club East Fife on 3 June 2017. He was sacked in November 2021, after a defeat against
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 ...
that left East Fife five points adrift at the bottom of League One.
Stirling Albion
On 20 December 2021, Young was named as the new manager of
Scottish League Two
The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was e ...
side
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...
.
Career statistics
Managerial record
:'
Honours and achievements
Player
;Alloa Athletic
*
Scottish Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.
History
The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...
Scottish League Two
The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was e ...