Fraser Wishart (born 1 March 1965) is a Scottish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, former Secretary of the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association, and current chief executive of the

Professional Footballers' Association Scotland The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland) is the association for professional footballers in Scotland. It was known as the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association (SPFA), but that organisation was dissolved and repla ...

. He is also an occasional radio and television commentator.

Early life

Johnstone-born Wishart grew up in south Glasgow, attending

Hillpark Secondary School Hillpark Secondary School ( gd, Àrd-sgoil Chnoc na Pàirce ːɾʲt̪skɔl xnɔkʲ na pʰaːɾʲç sco, Hullpairk Secondary) is a non-denominational secondary school located at 36 Cairngorm Road in the south side of Glasgow, Scotland. The ...

, where he played in the school team. He began his football career with Eastercraig Boys' Club, a successful youth team in Glasgow, followed by spells at amateur club, Giffnock North and semi-professional giants, Pollok Juniors.

Playing career

Wishart signed with

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

team

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

in 1983, and under manager

Tommy McLean Thomas McLean Jr. (born 2 June 1947 in Larkhall) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee ...

he established himself as a regular full back, making over 150 appearances for the team over the next six years. In 1989, he was transferred to St Mirren for £285,000, an amount set by tribunal after the two clubs could not agree on a fee. Three years later he moved to

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, before enjoying the most high-profile period of his career when

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

signed him for

Glasgow Rangers Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

in 1993. However, he made only nine appearances for the club in the next two years before moving on to Hearts in 1995, followed by a second spell at former club Motherwell in 1996. He was transferred 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 ...

in 1997, where he spent four years both as a player and coach during the club's turbulent final seasons. By this point Wishart was already working at the players' union as assistant to Tony Higgins. From Clydebank, he then moved to the similarly troubled Airdrieonians in 2001.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wishart, Fraser 1965 births Living people People from Johnstone Scottish footballers Motherwell F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Scottish Football League players Scottish chief executives Footballers from Renfrewshire Dumbarton F.C. players Association football defenders Scottish sports executives and administrators Scottish trade unionists Presidents of British trade unions Clydebank F.C. (1965) non-playing staff