Frankie McAvoy (born 9 July 1967) is a Scottish professional
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 ...
coach who is currently the assistant coach at
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
club
Heart of Midlothian.
McAvoy was previously the head coach at club
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
.
Playing career
McAvoy did not play football at a professional level, instead playing
junior football locally for
Bellshill Athletic
Bellshill Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the town of Bellshill, North Lanarkshire. It plays in the .
History
The history of the club can be traced back as far as 1897 when Bellshill Athletic were founded as a Ju ...
,
Thorniewood United,
Wishaw
Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...
, Bellshill YM and
Blantyre Victoria.
Coaching career
In 2003, McAvoy 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 ...
as an academy coach. In 2005, McAvoy joined
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...
in the same role, later becoming academy director. In 2013, following
Alex Neil's appointment as manager, McAvoy became first team coach at Hamilton. In 2015, both McAvoy and Neil moved to
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, with McAvoy once again acting as first team coach. In July 2017, the pair moved to
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
club
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
.
Following the dismissal of Neil on 21 March 2021, McAvoy was named as interim head coach of Preston until the end of the
2020–21 season.
On 10 May 2021, McAvoy appointed head coach permanently, after winning five of his eight matches in interim charges.
On 6 December 2021, McAvoy was dismissed by Preston despite a respectable record, winning fourteen league games out of his 33 in charge
2021–22 season.
On 3 February 2022, McAvoy joined
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
side
Heart of Midlothian as Academy Director, being given "a wide-ranging remit to oversee the youth system". McAvoy became Hearts head coach in June 2023, working with
Steven Naismith
Steven John Naismith (born 14 September 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is football development manager at Scottish club Heart of Midlothian.
Naismith began his career with Kilmarnock in 2004. He spent four years with th ...
.
McAvoy was given that job title as Naismith did not have a coaching licence needed to be the lead coach for matches in European competitions.
[ In September 2023, a week after Hearts had been eliminated from the ]Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...
, Naismith was made head coach and McAvoy his assistant.
Managerial statistics
References
1967 births
Living people
Scottish men's footballers
Scottish football managers
Preston North End F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Bellshill Athletic F.C. players
Thorniewood United F.C. players
Wishaw F.C. players
Blantyre Victoria F.C. players
Association football coaches
Dunfermline Athletic F.C. non-playing staff
Hamilton Academical F.C. non-playing staff
Norwich City F.C. non-playing staff
Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff
Men's association football players not categorized by position
Heart of Midlothian F.C. non-playing staff
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