John James Ross (born 5 June 1976) 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 and former player, who was most recently the manager of

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in the

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 Scottis ...

. During his playing career, Ross played as a defender and

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. From 1992 to 1995 he played for youth sides at Dundee and

Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...

, before dropping to the Scottish Junior leagues for first team action at Camelon Juniors. He then returned to the Scottish Football League in 1999 with

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, before a short stint in England with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

in 2004. He returned to Scotland a year later and played for

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 ...

, St Mirren,

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

and

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 ...

until he retired in 2011 due to a knee injury. He also played once for a Scotland B team, in 2009. Upon retiring, Ross started as a coaching career at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, as assistant manager for both

Alan Adamson Alan Adamson (born 21 May 1963) is a Scottish football manager and former football player. He was manager of Dumbarton from October 2010 until October 2012. Playing career Adamson was with Airdrieonians as a youth in the mid-1970s, but he was ...

and later Ian Murray, and was caretaker manager between them. He became the coach of the Heart of Midlothian under-20 team in July 2014. Ross was appointed

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...

manager in December 2015. In October 2016, he was appointed manager of St Mirren, leading them to the 2017–18 Scottish Championship title and was named

PFA Scotland Manager of the Year The PFA Scotland Manager of the Year is awarded by the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland to the football manager in Scottish football who is seen to have been the best manager over the previous season. The award replaced, and is consid ...

, before leaving to become manager of Sunderland in May 2018. Ross was sacked by Sunderland in October 2019, and was then appointed by Hibernian a month later. Ross guided Hibernian to a third place finish in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and two cup final appearances, but was sacked in December 2021. Ross was appointed Dundee United head coach in June 2022, but was sacked two months later after just seven games in charge.

Playing career

Early career

Ross had spells as a youth player at Dundee and

. He then moved to Camelon Juniors, where he featured in their 1996

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compete ...

run, before losing in the final. He joined

in 1999, playing in many different positions before settling in the right midfield role. He was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team when

Ian Spittal Ian Spittal (born 14 February 1965 in Glasgow), is a Scottish former footballer. He was a defender. Spittal began his career with Partick Thistle, and went on to have spells at Stranraer and Arbroath. Spittal then joined junior side Pollok, ...

was the team coach.

Moving to England

Ross signed a pre-contractual agreement with

in April 2004. Ross suffered ankle ligament damage and spent a large part of his time on the sidelines. Hartlepool funded his rehabilitation and also allowed him to return home. However, Ross refused to return to Hartlepool, train or play for the club and asked Hartlepool's chairman

Ken Hodcroft Ken Hodcroft (born 1953) is a British businessman, and the managing director of Increased Oil Recovery (IOR). IOR owned Hartlepool United for 18 years and Hodcroft was the chairman, before selling the football club to JPNG in 2015. Early life ...

to tear up his contract claiming he was homesick. Hartlepool refused and asked for compensation and a refund of agent fees.Pool say farewell to Ross
/ref> Ross left without consent and later went on sick and claimed that he would not return to Hartlepool even if "they were in the Champions League". He also criticised Hartlepool manager

Neale Cooper Neale James Cooper (24 November 1963 – 28 May 2018) was a Scottish football player and coach. He played as a midfielder during the 1980s and 1990s, most prominently for the Aberdeen team managed by Alex Ferguson, and later played for Aston ...

for feeling let down by his actions, stating that "maybe the manager thinks I have let him down but that's nothing compared with how I feel about him". On 31 July 2005, Hartlepool agreed to terminate his contract after finally receiving compensation, which included a refund of the fees paid to Ross's agent.

Return to Scotland

Ross transferred to his home town club, Falkirk, in 2005 and was a regular in the team. Falkirk manager John Hughes warned Ross when he stalled on signing a new contract. On 30 April 2008, it was announced that Ross had signed a pre-contract agreement with St Mirren and joined them at the end of the season on a two-year deal. Ross scored his first goal for St Mirren against

Tannadice Park Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in ...

on 24 January 2009. Having been released by St Mirren at the end of the 2009–10 season, Ross joined

on a one-year contract. His contract with

was cancelled after only three games. A few weeks later Ross signed for Dunfermline until the end of the 2010–11 season. He sustained a knee injury in training which led to his eventual retirement from football without having played a game for the Pars.

International career

Ross won his solitary cap for Scotland at junior level in 1999. In April 2009 he was included in

George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...

's Scotland B squad for the match against Northern Ireland B at

Broadwood Stadium Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...

. He came on at the start of the second half, replacing St Mirren teammate Scott Cuthbert, in a 3–0 win on 6 May.

Coaching career

Early career

In 2011, Ross joined

as assistant manager to

. He became caretaker manager following Adamson's sacking in October 2012. During this spell he led Dumbarton to their first

Scottish 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 ...

victory in 16 years, with a 1–0 victory over

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 189 ...

. Despite this he was overlooked for the job and continued as the assistant manager to Adamson's successor Ian Murray in November of that year. On 1 July 2014, Ross joined the Heart of Midlothian coaching staff. He left this position in October 2015.

Alloa Athletic

In December 2015, Ross was appointed manager of

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

club

. He was unable to stop the part-time club from being relegated from the second tier. Despite their relegation to

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

, Ross was given a new contract by Alloa in April 2016. He led Alloa Athletic to a club-record 10-game winning streak in all competitions at the start of season 2016–17. His part-time side held

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 ...

to a 0–0 draw for the first 83 minutes at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

on 21 September 2016, before conceding two late goals to exit the competition. Ross left the side in second place in the

table before leaving. His last game in charge was a 4–2 victory at

Bala Town Bala Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed y Bala) is a Welsh football team from Bala, Gwynedd, who play in the Cymru Premier. They play their home games at Maes Tegid. History For a full history see; '' List of Bala Town FC seasons'' Al ...

in the Scottish Challenge Cup.

St Mirren

Ross was appointed manager of St Mirren in October 2016. His first game in charge was a 2–0 home loss to

, but he guided St Mirren to safety in the 2016–17 Scottish Championship. At the end of the season, Dundee approached St Mirren about Ross becoming their manager, but he decided to stay with the Paisley club. St Mirren built a large lead in the 2017–18 Scottish Championship, going 14 points clear at the top in February. Ross was interviewed for the manager position at

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 Barnsley at this time, but he again decided to stay with St Mirren. They went on to win the Scottish Championship and promotion to the

, while Ross won the

award for 2017–18. In May 2018,

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

and Sunderland were given permission by St Mirren to talk with Ross about their managerial vacancies.

Sunderland

Ross was appointed manager of Sunderland on 25 May 2018, on a two-year deal.Jack Ross keen to write a thrilling new chapter in Sunderland’s history
Louise Taylor, The Guardian, 1 August 2018 The club had suffered a second consecutive relegation to EFL League One, and he was the first arrival under new owner

Stewart Donald Stewart Donald (born 1974/1975) is an English businessman and football administrator. Based in Witney, Oxfordshire, he is the former chairman and majority shareholder of Sunderland A.F.C. and former CEO of Bridle Insurance. Career As of 2018, Do ...

. In his first season in charge, Ross led the club to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the League One play-offs following a 1–0 aggregate win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in the semi-finals. However, they went on to lose in the

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. On 8 October 2019, his managerial contract was terminated by the club as they sat sixth in the

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

table.

Hibernian

club Hibernian appointed Ross as their

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

on 15 November 2019, on a 3-year deal. He finished his first season in 7th of 12 teams, dropping one place after the season was abandoned due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and the table finalised on points-per-game. In 2020–21, Ross guided Hibs to the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup, where they lost 3–0 to St Johnstone. He argued with BBC Scotland reporter Kenny MacIntyre after the game, accusing him of disrespect. Hibs finished the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership in third place, their highest finishing position in 16 years. They also reached the

2021 Scottish Cup Final The 2021 Scottish Cup Final was the 136th final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 2020–21 Scottish Cup, the most prestigious knockout football competition in Scotland. The match was played on 22 May 2021 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. St ...

, but lost 1–0 to St Johnstone. In July 2021 Ross agreed a new contract with Hibs, which was due to run until the end of the 2023–24 season. He was sacked in December 2021, after a run of seven defeats in nine league games. Jack Ross was also widely criticised over the style of football he deployed often described as "dull" and "boring. His dismissal came 10 days before the team were due to play in the League Cup final.

Dundee United

Ross was appointed head coach of

in June 2022 on a two-year deal. He led the team in their initial 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying campaign, culminating in a 7–1 aggregate loss to

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...

, matching the record greatest loss inflicted on a Scottish Club in a European competition. Two days after a 9–0 defeat to Celtic, which left the club at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership, Ross was sacked by United on 30 August 2022, after only seven games in charge.

Other activities

Ross was chairman of the

PFA 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 repl ...

players' union until February 2013, when he was succeeded by John Rankin; he also worked with the worldwide FIFPro union alongside part-time coaching roles. He wrote a blog for the

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

website during his playing career, and authored two children's books. He holds a master's degree in economics from Heriot-Watt University.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Camelon *

runner-up: 1995–96 Clyde *

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 ...

: 1999–2000 St Mirren *

runner-up: 2009–10 *

Renfrewshire Cup The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest team ...

: 2009–10

Manager

St. Mirren *

: 2017–18 * Scottish Challenge Cup runner-up: 2016–17 Sunderland *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Hibernian *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Individual *

: 2017–18 *

Manager of the Year: 2017–18 * EFL League One Manager of the Month: February 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jack 1976 births Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Clyde F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Association football defenders Forfar Athletic F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Living people Footballers from Falkirk Scotland B international footballers Scottish footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players St Mirren F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players English Football League players Camelon Juniors F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. non-playing staff Scottish football managers Alloa Athletic F.C. managers St Mirren F.C. managers Scottish Professional Football League managers Sunderland A.F.C. managers English Football League managers Hibernian F.C. managers Scottish trade unionists Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland junior international footballers Dumbarton F.C. non-playing staff Dundee United F.C. managers