Gerard Collins (born 12 March 1955) is a Scottish former football player and coach who managed

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 ...

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. ...

for short spells. Collins was assistant manager to John Lambie at both clubs before being promoted to manager.

Playing career

Collins turned out for

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

during an eleven-year playing career.

Coaching career

Hamilton Academical

Collins and Lambie first teamed up in 1985 when the former was a player with

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and the pair have been together ever since. Success quickly followed as Lambie and Collins led the Accies to the First Division title in 1985–86 and a shock

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers at Ibrox the following season.

Partick Thistle

Lambie and Collins successful partnership saw

secure promotion to the Premier Division in 1992, the pair kept Thistle there over the next three seasons despite meagre financial resources.

Falkirk

In 1995 Lambie parted company with Thistle, looking for a fresh challenge, and took over at his old club

. Unfortunately, this proved to be a disastrous move for him. Poor results were compounded by the fans' unfavorable comparisons of Lambie's pragmatic tactical style with the entertaining football played under his predecessor, Jim Jefferies. Collins took over as caretaker manager briefly but did not manage a win in six matches.

Return to Thistle

In March 1999 Collins and

Lambie Lambie is a surname. Articles include: * Ashton Lambie (born 1990), American cyclist * Alex Lambie (1897–1963), Scottish footballer * David Lambie (1925–2019), Scottish Labour Party politician * Derek Lambie (born 1975), Scottish newspaper e ...

teamed up again after receiving another offer from Partick Thistle, who had plummeted spectacularly since the duos departure. Having already been relegated twice, the club were in danger of going down again, to the Third Division, when Lambie and Collins arrived. In arguably his greatest managerial feat, Lambie kept Thistle up, then went on to guide them to the Scottish Premier League following successive promotions. This period also saw the club reach the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Having once again kept Thistle in the top flight, Lambie retired as manager in 2003, allowing Collins to take over as manager.

Jags manager

Collins took over at a time when Partick Thistle were hampered by severe financial restrictions. They were victims of their own success as the core of their successful team was transferred to rival Premier League clubs who could offer higher wages and longer contracts. Even

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 ...

who were in administration were able to offer double wages for key players

Stephen Craigan Stephen James Craigan (born 29 October 1976) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played in central defence, and spent his entire playing career in Scotland, playing for Motherwell (twice) and Partick Thistle. He has also pl ...

and Alex Burns. This left Collins going for broke, he signed young players from

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

reserves and brought in experienced player Andy Thomson who had been a prolific goalscorer in the lower leagues in England. Thistle's new look side struggled to cope at this level and were bottom of the league with no wins when Collins was sacked as manager.

Glenafton

After leaving Partick Thistle, Collins took up the position as manager at junior side Glenafton Athletic in 2005. After initial success, winning the Ayrshire League Cup and the West of Scotland Cup, Collins resigned in 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Gerry 1955 births Living people Scottish men's footballers Scottish football managers Partick Thistle F.C. managers Falkirk F.C. managers Hamilton Academical F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Stranraer F.C. players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Glasgow Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League managers Glenafton Athletic F.C. managers St Roch's F.C. players Scottish Football League managers