Neil James Watt (born 16 September 1962) is a Scottish football player and

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 ...

Club career

Watt is a former professional football player and manager. He played first team football for Forfar Athletic,

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 ...

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 ...

, Stranraer. He then played for and managed a number of Scottish football clubs, before returning to the senior game as manager of Stranraer in 2003. Watt requested his contract be terminated at Celtic citing a wish to play regular first team football and went on to make over 300 senior appearances in the Scottish Football League. He then went on to play for a number of Scottish junior clubs, most successfully

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, ...

where he later became manager, before returning to the game as manager of Stranraer,

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

and

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 ...

. Watt scored on his senior debut aged 17 and continued to play professional football on a part time basis for 10 years while forging a business career in property. He then moved to Junior football having further success winning various leagues and cups along the way. He played and scored in British football's highest scoring game in over 120 years,

v Selkirk -

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2003–04 Scottish Third Division The 2003–04 Scottish Third Division was won by Stranraer who, along with Stirling Albion, gained promotion to the Second Division. East Stirlingshire finished bottom. Table Top scorers Attendance The average attendance for Scottish Thir ...

championship. He then guided them to a second successive promotion, as runners-up in the 2004–05 Scottish Second Division. Watt had discussions with various full-time clubs, most notably Dundee but he turned down several opportunities due to his other business interest. Watt left Stranraer at the end of season 2005–06, when the club was relegated back to the Second Division. Watt was keen to promote young talent and gave opportunities to various players who moved onto full-time clubs. He left Stranraer in 2006 when the part-time club was relegated from the Championship, losing a play-off final with

Partick Thistle F.C. Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. The club have been mem ...

. After a short period out of football, Watt was appointed manager of

. He resigned from that post in October 2007, for reasons that were not explained. In his time there he helped the club secure their First Division status. Watt was recognised by the Scottish football in 2003/04 and 2004/05 as their Divisional Manager of the Year. He was named Manager of the Month on several occasions.

Achievements

SFL Manager of the Month - 9 occasions SFL Manager of the Year - 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 3rd Division Championship - 2003/2004 2nd Division promoted - 2004/2005 Watt continued to have a periphery involvement in professional football, advising and mentoring at different levels. In 2009 Watt was appointed to the Board of

, as Director of Football. At the time Clyde had severe financial problems, famously referred to by Sir Alex Ferguson as a "basket case". Watt saw this as a challenge to rescue a famous club in decline and after 4 successful years on the board, he resigned with the club on a more stable footing. During that time, he twice took temporary charge of the first team as its caretaker manager. Watt has built a successful business career in residential property management. He has served on a variety of professional groups offering his advice and support on many industry matters. Scottish Government has sought his advice on related matters as an acknowledged expert in his field. He has owned various racehorses in partnership with long-time friend David Moyes, current manager of West Ham Utd.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Neil 1962 births Living people Footballers from Hanover Scottish footballers Scottish football managers Ayr United F.C. managers Stranraer F.C. managers Scottish Football League managers Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders Celtic F.C. players Forfar Athletic F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. players Stirling Albion F.C. players Stranraer F.C. players Glasgow United F.C. players Scottish Football League players Clyde F.C. non-playing staff