Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional football
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
, and former
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
,
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
and executive. He won 33 international caps playing for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, and filled a variety of defensive roles in his career.
McNamara began his playing career with
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 ...
before joining Celtic in 1995. During ten years at the club he won the Scottish Premier League title four times and the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...
three times each. He then played in England with
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
before returning to Scotland, finishing his career with spells at
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 ...
, Falkirk and Partick Thistle.
In international football, McNamara played for Scotland at under-21 and B international levels, and made 33 full international appearances. He was a member of the Scotland squad that played at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
McNamara moved into management with Partick Thistle in April 2011, before his appointment at
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 January 2013. He was sacked by Dundee United in September 2015, and two months later took over as manager of
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
. He then worked as chief executive at York City. He is currently working with Dunfermline Athletic as a consultant.
Early life
McNamara was born at
Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital
The Princess Royal Maternity Hospital is a maternity hospital in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary in 1834 in Greyfriars Wynd, just off the city's High Street. It moved to St Andrew's Square in 1 ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and is the son of Jackie McNamara Sr., a former professional footballer, and Linda Houston. He played youth football for Cumbernauld Colts and Falkirk-based Gairdoch United.
Club career
Dunfermline Athletic
McNamara 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 ...
from Gairdoch United on 17 September 1991.
Celtic
McNamara moved to Celtic for a £600,000 fee on 3 October 1995. He made an impressive start to his Celtic career, being named
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
in 1996. McNamara won his first trophy with the club in the 1997–98 season when Celtic won the
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) ...
, preventing arch-rivals Rangers from winning ten-in-a-row, which would have seen them eclipse Celtic's record of nine-in-a-row. He was recognised for his performances this season by his fellow players when being named the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year in 1998. He featured regularly in the Celtic first eleven until the arrival of
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...
SFWA Footballer of the Year
The Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the SFWA Footballer of the Year, or simply the Scottish Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the se ...
in 2004, beating off competition from his teammates Henrik Larsson and
Chris Sutton
Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...
. The following year McNamara was named captain when
Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town.
Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...
was injured. McNamara proved himself a consistent and reliable performer on the field, playing almost every game in the league in the 2004–05 season. To reward his loyalty to the club over a ten-year period, Celtic played a testimonial match against the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. At the end of the 2004–05 season
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...
left as manager and Celtic brought in
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...
as his replacement.
McNamara's contract was also due to expire at the end of the 2004–05 season. Strachan assured McNamara that he wanted him at the club but Celtic were slow to offer a new contract, waiting until the close season to do so. By that time McNamara had already accepted an offer from
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
as he had assumed Celtic no longer wanted his services. As he went on record saying he still wanted to play for the club, he was told he was still needed by the club by its manager, and he was offered the contract he wanted while still in a position to accept it, the incident has caused much speculation amongst supporters and the media as to who was to blame for his departure from Celtic. The club accused McNamara of being unreasonable and of moving for monetary reasons. They also blamed his agent for not encouraging negotiations and setting unhelpful deadlines.
McNamara had gone on record as saying he wanted to end his career with Celtic and seemed to be bemused when no new contract was forthcoming. After he had accepted the Wolves offer, McNamara felt that Celtic showed a lack of respect to him in their comments to the media and he accused them of harming his reputation for their own benefit. It also emerged that in his new contract at Wolves, he was earning the same wages as his previous contract with Celtic.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
McNamara agreed with manager
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport.
He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...
that he would join
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in the summer of 2005 on a free transfer. After a promising start to his Wolves career, the player sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury in the home match with
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in September 2005. He came back in the penultimate game of the 2005–06 season at home to
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
.
Aberdeen
McNamara joined
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 ...
from Wolves on a two-year contract in May 2007, but he left
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 ...
before the end of the season, with manager
Jimmy Calderwood
James Calderwood (born 28 February 1955) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a player, Cal ...
citing "travelling and injuries" as the reasons for his departure. Three weeks later, it was revealed that McNamara would join Falkirk for the 2008–09 season.
Falkirk
McNamara signed a two-year contract at Falkirk in May 2008.
Partick Thistle
McNamara signed a one-month loan deal with Partick Thistle in February 2010, making him available to debut the following day against Dundee if selected. The terms of the deal allowed it to be extended beyond its initial period, but McNamara suffered a leg break during a match against Ayr United, prematurely ending his 2009–10 season. McNamara subsequently signed a one-year contract with Thistle for the 2010–11 season, which then continued on a one-year rolling contract basis.
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
on 13 December 1994, in a 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier. His first goal came in the reverse fixture, a 3–0 home win on 15 August 1995. McNamara finished his under-21 career with 12
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
and one goal, earned between 1994 and 1996.
Senior
McNamara was capped once by the
B team
B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...
, in a 3–0 away defeat to Denmark on 23 April 1996, before making his debut for the senior team in a 2–0 away win over Latvia in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 5 October 1996. He was selected for the Scotland squad in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He did not feature in the opening match, a 2–1 defeat against defending champions
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in Paris. His introduction from the bench in Scotland's second match, against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
in Bordeaux, was seen as pivotal in wiping out a one-goal deficit. The game finished in a 1–1 draw, leaving Scotland with a chance of qualification to the knockout stages. Ultimately the efforts were futile as
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
were victorious in St Etienne with a 3–0 win in the final match and Norway managed to qualify from the group with a win against Brazil. McNamara earned 33 caps for Scotland between 1996 and 2005.
Managerial career
Partick Thistle
McNamara began his managerial career at Partick Thistle where he was appointed caretaker manager on 15 April 2011, after Ian McCall left his job. He was then appointed manager on a one-year rolling contract a month later. Thistle performed well in his second season as manager, reaching the Challenge Cup final and lying in second place in the First Division in late January 2013. At this point he left Thistle to take the vacant position at SPL club
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 ...
. McNamara was replaced at Partick Thistle by
Alan Archibald
Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Archibald, who played as a defender, has been associated with Partick Thistle for most of his career. Beginning his professional career with the club as a ...
, a former Thistle and Dundee United defender.
Dundee United
McNamara's first match in charge of his new club was a fifth round
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers on 2 February 2013. United won 3–0, with Johnny Russell putting the home side ahead in the first minute of the match. The following week United defeated Hearts 3–1 in McNamara's first Scottish Premier League match as manager of the side. It was the side's first league win at home since August 2012. On 24 February 2014, McNamara extended his contract with Dundee United until 2017.
McNamara's first full season at Tannadice saw United reach the
Scottish Cup Final
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...
, which his side lost 2–0 to St Johnstone. The following season United lost the League Cup Final to Celtic, 2–0. The latter few months of that season also saw a sharp dip in United's form following the sale in January 2015 of
Gary Mackay-Steven
Gary Sean Mackay-Steven (born 31 August 1990) is a Scottish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian. He will become a free ...
and Stuart Armstrong.
Reports following Dundee United's 2–1 defeat to St Johnstone on 26 September 2015 suggested McNamara had been relieved of his duties, which was confirmed by the club two days later.
York City
McNamara was appointed manager of
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
on 4 November 2015, and his first match in charge came three days later, with a 3–2 away defeat to
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
first round. In April 2016, York's relegation from the Football League was confirmed by a 3–0 defeat against Accrington. In October 2016, a 6–1 defeat against the division's bottom club,
Guiseley
Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds.
It sits in th ...
, left York in 20th place in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
.
Following talks between McNamara and the club, York announced the manager would resign if they failed to gain a "positive result" in their next match, against Braintree Town. Following a 1–1 draw in that match, McNamara announced he would be stepping down, but had agreed to stay on as manager until a replacement was found. When Gary Mills was reappointed manager on 16 October 2016, McNamara took on the role of chief executive at the club. He left this position in March 2018.
Return to Dunfermline Athletic
In January 2019, McNamara returned to Scottish football as a consultant at previous club Dunfermline Athletic.
Personal life
McNamara co-wrote a television sitcom pilot with Scottish actor and comedy writer Fran Gilhooley called ''The Therapy Room'', starring Jackie's actor brother, Donny. The show is based around a young footballer who is catapulted from amateur football to the English top flight, and is partly based around McNamara's own experiences as a player and manager.
McNamara was taken to the intensive care unit of
Hull Royal Infirmary
Hull Royal Infirmary is a tertiary teaching hospital and is one of the two main hospitals for Kingston upon Hull (the other being Castle Hill Hospital in nearby Cottingham). It is situated on Anlaby Road, just outside the city centre, and is r ...
in February 2020, after he collapsed near his home in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, having suffered a brain hemorrhage. His condition was described at one point as "critical but stable", but after a few weeks of care he was able to return home.
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 ...
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
runner-up: 2002–03
Falkirk
*Scottish Cup runner-up: 2008–09
Individual
*
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
SFWA Footballer of the Year
The Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the SFWA Footballer of the Year, or simply the Scottish Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the se ...
: 2004
Manager
Dundee United
*Scottish Cup runner-up: 2013–14
*Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2014–15
See also
*
List of Scotland national football team captains
This article lists all the captains of the Scotland national football team. As of 16 November 2022, Scotland have played 816 officially recognised international matches and have had 155 different team captains. George Young captained Scotland m ...
*
List of Scottish football families
This is a list of Scottish football (soccer) families.
;Families included on the list must have:
# at least, one member of the family is capped by a national team on the senior level or an important person in the game of football (e.g., notable ...