Michael Gault (born 15 April 1983) is a Northern Irish

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 ...

former player who is currently manager of

Linfield F.C. Linfield Football Club is a Northern Irish professional football club based in south Belfast which plays in the NIFL Premiership – the highest level of the Northern Ireland Football League. The fourth-oldest club on the island of Ireland, Li ...

Swifts. He previously managed Ballymacash Rangers from 2019-20.

Club career

Born in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, Gault began his senior career with Linfield in the 2001–02 season. He signed a professional three-and-a-half year contract in April 2003, signing extensions in May 2006, May 2009, and March 2012. During the 2012 extension Gault, who was club captain, lost his full-time professional status. He was released by Linfield in May 2014, signing for

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

later that month. He received a total of 21 yellow cards in 29 games in the 2015/16 season. In January 2016 it was announced he would leave the club in the summer after he signed a pre-contract agreement with

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. In July 2019, Michael Gault was appointed player manager of

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

club Ballymacash Rangers F.C. Michael made 17 appearances playing for Ballymacash Rangers F.C. before retiring in August 2020 to focus on management.

Managerial career

Michael Gault took his first steps into management in July 2019 when he was appointed player manager of Ballymacash Rangers F.C. Michael retired from playing in August 2020 and his sole responsibility at the club was then management. In his first season, which was brought to an early finish in March 2020 due to the

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pandemic, Michael led his side to a 2nd placed finish in the

Intermediate A division and a domestic cup final. Michael stepped down from his role at The Bluebell to take up a role with

as Manager of their Under 18 side. Gault is now manager of Linfield Swifts.

International career

Gault was called up to the Northern Ireland national team for the first time in October 2008. He made his international debut in a friendly match against

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in March 2008;

Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician * Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...

also made his international debut in the same match.

Personal life

In 2003 Gault was studying computers at

Ulster University sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

; by 2006 he was studying sports science at their Jordanstown campus. Michael Gault is a qualified PE teacher and also a fully qualified Financial Advisor

Honours

Team

* Linfield ** Irish League: 7 *** 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12 **

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

: 6 *** 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10,

, 2011–12 **

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

: 3 *** 2001–02, 2005–06, 2007–08 **

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...

: 5 ***2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2013–14 **

Setanta Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ir ...

: 1 ***

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Individual

*Irish League Player of the Month (2): March 2003, January 2006 * Linfield Player of the Year (1): 2010–11 *Northern Ireland Football Writers Player of the Year (1): 2007–08

References

1983 births Living people Association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland international footballers Linfield F.C. players Portadown F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Association football midfielders Crusaders F.C. players Sportspeople from Lisburn Schoolteachers from Northern Ireland Ballymacash Rangers F.C. players Ballymena United F.C. players Annagh United F.C. players {{NorthernIreland-footy-bio-stub