James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish

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 ...

manager and former player. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 Scottish Cup and played in the

1987 UEFA Cup Final The 1987 UEFA Cup Final was a football tie played on 6 and 20 May 1987 between IFK Göteborg of Sweden and Dundee United of Scotland. Göteborg won 2–1 on aggregate, their second UEFA Cup triumph, following victory in 1982. It was Dundee Uni ...

. At United he was also a three time Scottish Cup runner-up. McInally also played for

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 Foo ...

, Nottingham Forest (1985 Player of the Year),

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, Raith Rovers,

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 ...

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 19 ...

and East Fife. He gained 10 full caps with the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. ...

for whom he played at the UEFA Euro 1992 finals in Sweden. His management career began with a player-manager role at

. After his playing retirement he took charge of

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 Greeno ...

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...

and was then manager of

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

for 11 years.

Playing career

Celtic and loan to Dundee

McInally began senior his career at left back with

, the team he supported as a boy. He won Scotland youth caps and then debuted under Billy McNeil on 28 August 1982 in a 7-1 league cup victory at Dunfermline Athletic. However McNeil left in June 1983 and was replaced by

Davie Hay David Hay (born 29 January 1948) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He broke into the Celtic team in the late 1960s, as one of a generation of players who continued a highly successful era for the club. A contract dispute between ...

who had no plans for McInally at Celtic. In January 1984 McInally was loaned to

where he scored twice in his 11 league games. McInally left after only one appearance for Celtic in each of the league and the Scottish Cup to add to his debut in the league cup against Dunfermline.

Nottingham Forest

He was flown down by

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...

to watch Nottingham Forest against Manchester United for the final league game of the 1983/84 season (Forest won 2--0). He was a guest of Forest at the game with two other players they were signing, Johnny Metgod and

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers ...

. McInally's Forest debut was in and end of season tour in Australia. While living in Nottingham's Balmoral Hotel he spent Christmas as a guest at the Clough household. McInally was player of the year at the end of his first Forest season. Despite this success he stayed at Forest for only 18 months. In the summer of 1985 Stuart Pearce was signed by Clough. Pearce was the makeweight in a £300,000 deal bringing Coventry centre-back

Ian Butterworth Ian Stewart Butterworth (born 25 January 1964) is an English former professional footballer, formerly assistant and caretaker manager at Norwich City. He is the chief scout at Queens Park Rangers. Playing career Butterworth was a central defen ...

to Forest. So unsure was Pearce of his footballing future that after the transfer he advertised his services as an electrician in Forest's match-day programme. However Pearce immediately established himself at left back making 30 league appearances before the end of the season. McInally played beside Pearce in some games that season before leaving after his last game on 26 December 1985. McInally's last game was a 1–0 win away at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

Coventry City

McInally moved in the opposite direction to Pearce joining Dave Bowman at

for £112,000. He played five first team games there before he and Bowman double transferred to Scotland at the end of the season.

Dundee United

McInally and Bowman joined Dundee United in the summer of 1986 in a £140,000 joint transfer. At Tannadice McInally quickly became an effective defensive midfielder and played an important part in Dundee United's run to the UEFA Cup Final in his first season. McInally scored the opener in the home leg of the third round tie against Hadjuk Split. United beat

F.C. Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded i ...

home and away and then eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the semi final. They lost 2–1 on aggregate in the final to IFK Goteborg. Bowman and McInally played in three losing Dundee United Scottish final teams. These were in 1987 to St Mirren, 1988 to Celtic and the 1991 final to Motherwell in which Bowman scored. They collected a winners medal from the

1994 Scottish Cup Final The 1994 Scottish Cup Final was the final match of the 1993–94 Scottish Cup, 1993–94 Scottish Cup competition, the 109th edition of the most important cup competition in Scotland, Scottish Association football, football. It was played betwee ...

win against Rangers.

Raith Rovers

In 1995, following United's relegation to the

Scottish Football League 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 ...

, McInally remained in the Premier Division by joining newly promoted Raith Rovers as player/coach. In early 1996, McInally was due to join

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in a swap deal for Peter Hetherston, and was paraded at a

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...

news conference. Hetherston however failed a medical and the move collapsed.

Dundee United (second spell)

A few weeks into the following season, McInally moved back to Tannadice and made sixteen appearances.

Dundee

He then moved back to Dundee as a player-coach at

Dens Park Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yard ...

Scotland

McInally's first full cap was on 1 April 1987 losing 4–1 in a European Championship qualifier away to Belgium. He was selected for the Scotland squad for the UEFA Euro 1992 finals in Sweden. In Sweden he played in Scotland's third and final game as a 65th-minute substitute for Ally McCoist. The Scots won that game 3–0 against the CIS. McInally had played in two of the qualifiers both of which were 1–1 draws against Bulgaria. His 10th and final cap was the 5–0 defeat away to Portugal on 28 April 1993 that all but extinguished Scottish hopes of qualifying for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

Management career

Sligo Rovers

McInally joined

as manager at the start of the 1999–00 season but early results did not go his way and he left the club for personal reasons. He returned to Scotland and joined the coaching staff of Celtic, working with the club's youth teams.

Greenock Morton

McInally moved back into management as he was appointed manager of

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

side

. In the 2005–06 season, he led Morton to 2nd place in the Division after which they were subsequently denied promotion by losing to

in the play-offs. McInally stated his intention to win the Second Division in the 2006–07 season, with that objective met in mid April when nearest challengers

Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...

fell out of mathematical contention. He won the August 2006 Second Division Manager of the Month award, along the way. He resigned in February 2008 after a run of poor results allowed Morton to slip into ninth place in the First Division.

East Stirlingshire

On 13 March 2008, McInally was named the new manager of Third Division strugglers

, succeeding Gordon Wylde who resigned a month earlier. McInally was named November 2008 Manager of the Month for the Third Division by the Scottish Football League. He then won the same award in February and September 2009, but resigned in May 2011 after the club finished second bottom of the 2010–11 Scottish Third Division.

Peterhead

McInally was appointed manager of

in October 2011. He led the Blue Toon to its first trophy as a football league club by winning the

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as cinch League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League Two was e ...

title in season 2013–14. The club were relegated back to the fourth tier via the play-offs in season 2016–17. McInally offered to resign after Peterhead failed to win promotion in 2017–18, but the board of directors asked him to stay on. He then won the

title the next season, securing it on the last day. He resigned on 14 November 2022 after 11 years in the job, with Peterhead sitting bottom of the 2022–23 Scottish League One table.

Career statistics

International appearances

Managerial record

Honours and awards

Player

;Nottingham Forest * Player of the Year 1984–85 ;Dundee United *

ist * 1993–94 Scottish Cup winner * Hall of Fame 2015 inductee

Manager

;Greenock Morton *

: 2006–07 ;Peterhead *

(2): 2013–14, 2018–19

References

External links

* *
FitbaStats - Celtic
{{DEFAULTSORT:McInally, Jim 1964 births Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Celtic F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. managers Greenock Morton F.C. managers Greenock Morton F.C. non-playing staff League of Ireland managers League of Ireland players Living people Nottingham Forest F.C. players Peterhead F.C. managers Raith Rovers F.C. players Scotland international footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League representative players Scottish football managers Scottish footballers Scottish Professional Football League managers Sligo Rovers F.C. managers Footballers from Glasgow English Football League players UEFA Euro 1992 players Association football midfielders Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers F.C. players