David McLean (3 February 1884 – 14 February 1951) was a Scottish

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. McLean played as a Winger.

Player

McLean was born in

Buckhaven, Fife Buckhaven is a town on the east coast of Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth between East Wemyss and Methil. Buckhaven is on the Fife Coastal Path, and near to Wemyss Caves and Largo Bay. History The name Buckhaven is probably from the Sc ...

. He played for Buckhaven United, Cambuslang Rangers,

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 ...

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 ...

and

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

. He first joined East Fife in 1911 as player-manager.

Manager

East Fife and Bristol Rovers

After joining East Fife as player manager he led them to victory in the

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup w ...

Final in 1920-21. East Fife were admitted to the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

in 1921 and reached the 1927 Scottish Cup Final. McLean was appointed manager of

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

in 1929. He left after just over a year. He and returned to East Fife in 1931. McLean led them to victory over

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

in the 1938 Scottish Cup Final.

Heart of Midlothian

Hearts appointed McLean manager on a five-year contract in June 1941. He played a significant role in rebuilding the club during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The first seeds of the Tommy Walker managerial success at Hearts were sown by McLean. On 9 October 1948, after a mediocre start to the 1948–49 season McLean combined three young forwards,

Jimmy Wardhaugh James Alexander Douglas Wardhaugh (21 March 1929 – 2 January 1978) was a Scottish professional footballer, most fondly remembered as part of the ''Terrible Trio'' Heart of Midlothian forward line of the 1950s, alongside Willie Bauld and Alfie ...

Willie Bauld William Russell Logan Bauld (24 January 1928 – 11 March 1977) was a footballer who played for Newtongrange Star, Heart of Midlothian, Edinburgh City and the Scotland national team. Heart of Midlothian Bauld was born in Newcraighall, Edin ...

and Alfie Conn Sr., for the first time.Scott, ''The Terrible Trio'', 10–11 They became dubbed the ''Terrible Trio'' and scored over 900 Hearts goals between them (Wardhaugh 376, Bauld 355, Conn 221).Hearts FC Hall of Fame
/ref>Scott, ''The Terrible Trio'', 101–103 A few weeks later in December 1948, Tommy Walker left during his third season at Chelsea to return to Hearts. He took the role of player-assistant to McLean, whose intention was that Walker would be a steadying influence in a developing young team. However, after a single appearance at right-half in a 1–0 home defeat by

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 ...

, Walker retired to concentrate fully on learning the managerial ropes. Tangible progress was made in the League Championship in 1949-50 when Hearts finished third. As Walker had become more influential, McLean was co-opted to the board on 16 March 1950. McLean's death on 14 February 1951 saw Walker promoted to the position of manager; his reign was to prove the most successful period in the club's history.Price, P12 Walker was always quick to acknowledge the contribution made by McLean and his fatherly interest in the welfare and development of the players. The important foundations Walker inherited from McLean included the ''Terrible Trio'' forwards, the full back pair of Bobby Parker and

Tam McKenzie Thomas F. McKenzie (5 November 1922 – November 1967) was a Scottish professional footballer who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian. Heart of Midlothian McKenzie was born in Edinburgh and joined Hearts from Haddington Athleti ...

and half backs

Bobby Dougan Bobby Dougan (3 December 1926 – 7 February 2010) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a centre half for Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock in the Scottish Football League, having started his career with Shawfield. Playing career Dougan w ...

and

Davie Laing David Laing (20 February 1925 – 15 July 2017) was a Scottish professional footballer. Laing played for Hearts for eight years and represented the Scottish League XI while there in 1952. His last game for the club was on 4 September 1954 in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclean, David 1884 births 1951 deaths Association football wingers Scottish footballers Cambuslang Rangers F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers East Fife F.C. managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. managers English Football League managers Scottish Football League managers People from Buckhaven Footballers from Fife Scottish Junior Football Association players