Kevin Rutkiewicz (born 10 May 1980) is a Scottish professional
football player and coach, who is the current manager of
Lowland League side
East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
. He was formally the manager of
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 ...
club
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 ...
. Ruthkiewicz played as a
defender for
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 ...
,
St Johnstone,
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 ...
,
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 Green ...
,
East Fife and American club
Carolina RailHawks
North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system.
The team has played its home games ...
.
After a stint as player/assistant manager at
Annan Athletic, Rutkiewicz was appointed
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 ...
manager in October 2018. He would announce his resignation in December 2021.
Career
Glasgow born Rutkiewicz began his professional career with
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 ...
, making his debut in an SPL fixture against
Hibernian in November 1999 at the age of nineteen. He went on to make almost seventy first-team appearances for the Pittodrie club, scoring his only goal for the club in a 3-2 defeat to
Hearts in April 2002.
Rutkiewicz became then St Johnstone manager
John Connolly's first signing for the
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
club in June 2004. He scored his first goal for Saints in a 3–0 win over
Queen of the South in the
league cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
two months into his St Johnstone career. He signed a new two-year contract at the end of 2005–06, but missed all of 2006–07 due to an injury. In his first game back, on 11 August 2007, he scored a goal in Saints' 2–2 draw with
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 ...
at
McDiarmid Park
McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of .
As well as St J ...
.
Rutkiewicz was made club captain in 2008–09 after the previous captain, Kevin James, suffered injury problems and dropped out of the first team. In March 2009 he received the Scottish First Division Player of the Month Award for a string of solid performances that helped the team maintain their lead at the top of the league table.
In January 2011, Rutkiewicz joined Dunfermline on loan. This successful spell at the club led to him being offered a permanent contract for the 2011/12 season, which he accepted. He missed most of the season due to a hip injury. Soon after making a comeback he suffered an ankle injury.
He made a second comeback but then immediately suffered a third injury, which ruled him out of action for the rest of the season.
After he was released by Dunfermline in May 2012, and went on trial with
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 Green ...
starting in a friendly match against
Concordia Chiajna
Clubul Sportiv Concordia Chiajna, commonly known as Concordia Chiajna, is a Romanian professional football club based in Chiajna, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga II.
Founded in 1957, the team's best period was between 2011 and 2019, wh ...
and coming off the bench to replace
Martin Hardie Martin Hardie may refer to:
* Martin Hardie (footballer)
* Martin Hardie (artist)
{{hndis, Hardie, Martin ...
in the
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 ...
final against
St Mirren.
He signed for Morton towards the end of July 2012.
In April 2013, Rutkiewicz agreed a two-year player/coach deal with
Carolina RailHawks
North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system.
The team has played its home games ...
in the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
.
In October 2015, Rutkiewicz dropped down to
Junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
level when he signed for
Blantyre Victoria in a player/coach role. He took temporary charge of Vics after the departure of Davie Greig in December 2015 but followed his former manager to
Irvine Meadow in January 2016. Rutkiewicz returned to the
SPFL
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As we ...
tier-system in March 2017, signing a short-term contract with
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 ...
side
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 ...
. Rutkiewicz left the club in May 2017 after his contract ended, subsequently signing a deal with
Annan Athletic which would see him become
player-assistant manager to
Peter Murphy.
In October 2018, Rutkiewicz was appointed manager of
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 ...
club
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 ...
. In December 2021, Rutkiewicz announced is resignation from the role.
On 28 March 2022, Rutkiewicz was appointed manager of
Lowland League side
East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
Personal life
Rutkiewicz is of Polish descent. His grandfather Ernest was born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, but moved to Scotland during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Career statistics
Manager
Honours
St Johnstone
*
Scottish Challenge Cup:
2007–08
References
External links
*
* (Clyde; incorrect surname)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutkiewicz, Kevin
1980 births
Aberdeen F.C. players
Association football defenders
Living people
Footballers from Glasgow
Scottish people of Polish descent
Scottish Football League players
Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
Scottish footballers
Scottish Premier League players
St Johnstone F.C. players
Scottish Junior Football Association players
Larkhall Thistle F.C. players
Greenock Morton F.C. players
East Fife F.C. players
Blantyre Victoria F.C. players
Irvine Meadow XI F.C. players
Clyde F.C. players
Annan Athletic F.C. players
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Scottish expatriate footballers
North Carolina FC players
North American Soccer League players
Scottish football managers
Stirling Albion F.C. managers
Scottish Professional Football League managers
East Kilbride F.C. managers