David John Irons (born 18 July 1961 in

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 former

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 ...

player and coach. Irons' playing career spanned 26 years as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

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 ...

for a host of clubs, most notably for

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

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 ...

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

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

. Irons has previously been manager of Annan Athletic, Gretna,

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 ...

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 ...

and Gretna 2008, and assistant-manager at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

Early life

Born in Glasgow in 1961, Davie Irons was raised in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

after moving to

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

with his parents in 1964.

Playing career

Irons began his career with local club Queen of the South in 1979. After only one year of the Harkness Era at

Palmerston Park Palmerston Park is a football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South, who have played there since 1919. South of Scotland League club He ...

and a total of four first team appearances, Irons moved into Scottish Junior football, joining Kello Rovers, where he played for four seasons. Irons returned to the professional game in 1984 with

and went on to play in 75 league matches for ''The Honest Men'', scoring 12 league goals at

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United. H ...

. In 1987, Irons signed for

, playing in 54 league matches, scoring 7 league goals. The following season Irons signed for

. Irons scored the opening goal for the ''Pars'' in the match which confirmed Queen of the South's relegation to the Second Division in May 1989. After 106 league matches and 9 league goals for the

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

club, Irons signed for

, where he stayed for two seasons in

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, t ...

, playing in 84 league matches, scoring 10 league goals. Irons then joined the sixth professional club of his career,

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 ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in the summer of 1993, playing for three seasons 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 ...

, playing in 52 league matches and scored two goals. Irons returned to

club ''Queens'', under the new regime of Norman Blount, to play for a Queens Select team on 23 April 1995. The opposition club was Rangers, in a game that ended in a 2–2 draw, to mark Queens' 75th anniversary and the opening of the new East Stand. Other former players to appear alongside Irons included Andy Thomson and

Ted McMinn Kevin Clifton "Ted" McMinn (born 28 September 1962) is a Scottish former association footballer who played as a winger. His nickname is ''The Tin Man''. Playing career Early years Born in Castle Douglas and raised in nearby Dumfries, McMinn ...

. Irons then signed for

for the 1996-97 season, playing in 43 league matches and scoring one solitary goal.

Coaching career

Irons spent five seasons as the

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 Annan Athletic from 1997 until 2002.

Gretna FC

In 2005, Irons' playing career ended after three seasons with Gretna, having played in 89 league matches, scoring two goals for the ''Black and Whites''. Irons then agreed to be the assistant-manager to

Rowan Alexander Rowan Samuel Alexander (born 28 January 1961) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Alexander was a prolific goal-scoring striker for Queen of the South and Greenock Morton. Alexander also played for St Mirren, Brentford and Gr ...

to remain with Gretna. After this Irons was the caretaker-manager of Gretna between March 2007 and the end of the 2006-07 season, during Alexander's sabbatical from the

club. Gretna then won promotion to 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 ...

on 28 April 2007, after a 3–2 win at

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...

versus Ross County. This victory clinched the First Division Championship for the ''Black and Whites'' as they finished one point ahead of one of Irons' former club's,

. On 18 July 2007, Irons was appointed Gretna's permanent manager, with

Mick Wadsworth Michael Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950) is an English football coach and former player. Born in Barnsley his playing career spanned only one season in The Football League with Scunthorpe United, along with spells playing for Gainsborough Tr ...

as the club's assistant-manager. On 19 February 2008, Irons resigned as Gretna's manager and soon afterwards the club entered administration and went out of business at the end of the 2007-08 season.

Morton

Irons was then appointed manager of

soon after departing from the Gretna manager's position. Irons' first priority was to retain Morton's place in the First Division. The club won two key matches versus

and

, both by the scoreline of 3–0 and this retained Morton's place in the First Division, as the club's goal difference was one better than

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 ...

and the

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

club ended in eighth place. In Irons' first full season as manager of Greenock Morton, the 2008-09, the club finished in sixth place in the First Division, despite a poor start to the season, when the club only amassed four points from the first quarter of the season. Irons also achieved a win versus Hibs at

Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-larges ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

that same season. However, after a poor start to the 2009-10 season, losing five of the first six league matches and with the club at the basement of the First Division, Irons contract was terminated with immediate effect on 21 September 2009, alongside the club's assistant-manager Derek Collins.

Threave Rovers

After being sacked by Greenock Morton, Irons was appointed the player-coach of South of Scotland League club Threave Rovers from

Castle Douglas Castle Douglas ( gd, Caisteal Dhùghlais) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ...

. When Irons appeared as a used substitute in the final minute of a match versus Whitehill Welfare on 24 October 2009, Irons was the oldest player to have played in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Gerry Britton as the assistant-manager of

in January 2010 but Irons' contract was terminated by the club on 26 February 2010. After leaving the ''Jags'', Irons returned to Threave Rovers as a player-coach once again. Irons then superseded his own record as the oldest player to appear in a Scottish Cup match, when aged 49 and a number of days, he played for Threave Rovers on 20 November 2010 in the third round of the Scottish Cup in a 2–2 draw versus

Ochilview Park Ochilview Park is a football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League Two club Stenhousemuir, and is also currently shared by Scottish Championship club Queen's Park and East ...

Stenhousemuir

Irons was then appointed manager of the ''Warriors'' at the end of December 2010. Irons then resigned as the club's manager in July 2012 due to personal reasons.

Carlisle United

Following his resignation of the

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

club, Irons joined

Police Scotland Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...

and was also working part-time as a scout for

. After a short term job as a coach with

Northern Football League The Northern League is a men's football league in north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Football League. It contains two divisions; Division ...

club

Celtic Nation The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...

, Irons departed the club to rejoin the

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

club as the full-time youth team manager in July 2013, after the departure of former coach Eric Kinder to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. Irons had also started attending friendly matches with the ''Cumbrians'' manager

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...

around the same time. Following a poor start to the 2013-14 season, Irons was appointed caretaker-manager of the ''Cumbrians'' after the departure of Abbott, alongside

Graham Kavanagh Graham Anthony Kavanagh (born 2 December 1973) is an Irish football manager and former professional player. Kavanagh had a 19-year-long career and played for Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednes ...

and

Tony Caig Antony Caig (born 11 April 1974) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the Head of Academy Goalkeeping for Premier League Club Newcastle United. Playing career Caig made his name playing ...

. On 30 September 2013 Irons was appointed Kavanagh's permanent assistant-manager of Carlisle United.

Gretna 2008

On 8 August 2017, Irons was appointed manager of Gretna 2008, alongside Andy Aitken. Both resigned their position as joint managers on 27 November 2018.

Second spell as Stenhousemuir manager

Irons began a second spell as manager of

in September 2019. Stenhousemuir announced on 20 April 2021 that Irons would leave the club by mutual consent after their game later that day.

Personal life

Irons daughter, Amy, is a former DJ on

Capital Scotland Capital Scotland (formerly known as Beat 106, XFM Scotland, and later Galaxy Scotland) is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global. It broadcasts to Scotland's Central Belt, an area surrounding the two citie ...

who now presents the sports bulletin on

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

's '' The Nine''.

Managerial statistics

* statistics available from soccerbase.com

Honours

;Gretna *

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

: 2006–07

References

;Sources * *
Profile at Profile at Playerhistory.com

External links

"First for thrills", Irons gives his opinion on the 2007–08 Scottish First Division season
– BBC Sport website {{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, Davie 1961 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Footballers from Dumfries Scottish footballers Queen of the South F.C. players Kello Rovers F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. non-playing staff Partick Thistle F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Annan Athletic F.C. players Gretna F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Annan Athletic F.C. managers Gretna F.C. managers Greenock Morton F.C. managers Scottish Junior Football Association players Stenhousemuir F.C. managers Scottish Premier League managers People educated at Dumfries Academy Scottish Football League managers Clydebank F.C. (1965) managers Carlisle United F.C. non-playing staff Association football defenders Scottish Professional Football League managers Association football midfielders Scottish police officers Association football coaches category:Police Scotland officers