Stephen David McManus (born 10 September 1982) 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 is a first team coach at

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 Scottish ...

club

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 ...

. McManus, who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, was a product of

's youth academy and rose through the ranks to become first team

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 ...

ahead of the 2007–08 season. He held this position until his move to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in 2010. After two loan spells with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, McManus finished his career with four seasons at

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. McManus also captained the Scotland national team, and made 26 international appearances between 2006 and 2010. Former Scotland captain

Colin Hendry Edward Colin James Hendry (born 7 December 1965) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. Hendry, who played as a defender notably played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he was part of the title winning ...

described him as "the last of an ancient breed",TEN THINGS: Stephen McManus
Middlesbrough F.C. in the sense that his 'no-nonsense' defending style had become a rarity. McManus retired from playing in 2017 and became a coach.

Club career

Celtic

McManus came through the ranks at Celtic and signed a professional contract on the same day as fellow defender John Kennedy. He made his debut for the first team, under

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 ...

, in the 2003–04 season against Hibernian, and finished that season with five league appearances as Celtic won the title. He later established himself as first choice central defender at Celtic during

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 Cove ...

's managerial reign. In the 2005–06 season, McManus scored eight goals (seven of which came in the League). He was made captain for the first league game of the 2006–07 season, in the match against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

due to regular club captain

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish football coach and former player. During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City. Lennon moved to Celtic in 2000, where he ...

being suspended. Since that game he repeatedly deputised as Celtic captain throughout the 2006–07 season. After Lennon left Celtic to join

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, McManus was announced as Celtic's new captain on 31 July 2007 and signed a four-year contract. He said: On 3 October 2007, McManus scored to put Celtic a goal ahead against

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

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 also ...

in the group stages of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. The match ended 2–1 in Celtic's favour with

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...

equalising for Milan before

Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking mid ...

scored a late winner for Celtic. McManus lifted his first trophy as Celtic skipper on 22 May 2008, when Celtic won the 2007–08 SPL Championship following a 1–0 win over

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 ...

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 the last day of the season. Before the beginning of the 2008–09 SPL Championship it was announced that McManus would wear the No.4 shirt, after its previous owner

Adam Virgo Adam John Virgo (born 25 January 1983) is a former professional footballer, who now works as a pundit and commentator. Playing career Early career From the age of seven Virgo played for the St. Aubyns Preparatory School football team. At 13 h ...

left the club in July 2008. McManus fell out of favour under new manager

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Sunderland. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a defender. He began his coaching career with Ip ...

, however, making only 14 appearances in the first part of the 2009–10 season.

Middlesbrough

McManus was loaned by Celtic to Middlesbrough for the second half of the 2009–10 season. This meant that McManus linked up again with

, who signed four other Celtic players during the January 2010 transfer window. McManus received the man of the match award in his Middlesbrough debut against

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 ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

on 5 April 2010. On 13 July 2010, McManus completed a £1.5 million move to the Teesside club signing a 3-year contract. McManus scored his second goal for Middlesbrough against Leicester City on 2 April 2011, his goal coming in the 94th minute to level the game at 3–3. At the end of the 2012–13 season, McManus was not offered a new contract and left the club.

Bristol City

McManus signed for Bristol City on loan until the end of the season on 14 February 2012 and made his debut at home in the 2–2 draw against Crystal Palace the same day. He was recalled on 28 March, due to injury worries to Matthew Bates and Seb Hines following the match against

(McManus did not play against Boro). He then returned to Bristol City for a second loan spell the following season. His first and only goal for the club came in a 4–2 win over

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

on 29 December 2012.

Motherwell

On 15 July 2013, McManus signed a one-year deal with

side

. He made his competitive debut for Motherwell in a home

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

match against Russian side Kuban Krasnodar. Motherwell lost the match 2–0. His first goal for the club came in a 1–0 win over Hibernian on 3 November 2013. McManus made 42 appearances for Motherwell during the 2013–14 season, after which he signed a new two-year contract with the club. On 14 August 2017, it was announced that McManus had decided to retire from playing football.

International career

McManus earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

at international level for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 11 October 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 2–0 defeat to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. McManus scored his first goal for Scotland in a 3–1 win against

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

on 8 September 2007, turning a

Shaun Maloney Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Maloney played for Celtic, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, Hull City and the Scotland national team as an attacking midfielder or winger. ...

cross into the net to put Scotland 2–1 up. He captained

for the first time on 26 March 2008 in a friendly match against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

, in the absence of regular captain

Barry Ferguson Barry Ferguson (born 2 February 1978) is a Scottish football coach, former player and pundit who was most recently the manager of Alloa Athletic. Ferguson spent most of his playing career at Rangers, in two spells either side of a £7.5 mil ...

. The game finished 1–1. On 10 September 2008, McManus was sent off for a deliberate handball in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur () is Iceland's national football stadium and the home venue for the Iceland national football team. It is in Reykjavík with a capacity of 9,800. History The idea of building a sport venue in Laugardalur, along with some othe ...

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

. He used his right hand to tip the crossed ball over the crossbar to stop approaching Icelandic striker

Heiðar Helguson Heiðar Helguson (; born 22 August 1977) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a striker. Heiðar started his career in the Icelandic league system, with UMFS Dalvík and Þróttur. Following a one-season spell in Norw ...

from scoring a goal, while Scotland were leading 2–0. The penalty kick was converted to make the score 2–1, which was the final score. On 7 September 2010 McManus scored a dramatic 97th minute winning header for Scotland in their 2–1 victory over Liechtenstein. His 26th and final cap came in October 2010, in a 3–2 defeat to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Coaching career

After retiring in 2017, McManus took a coaching position with Motherwell. He returned to

in January 2019 as a coach of their under-18 team.

Personal life

McManus was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

. He attended Holy Cross RC Secondary School in Hamilton, the school which international and former club teammate

Paul Hartley Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and ...

also attended. McManus and Hartley used to have a competition at training to see who could name the most teachers and the loser picked up all the balls. In 2008, after a Champions League game against Barcelona, McManus swapped jerseys with

Leo Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...

but has since lost it. His nickname is "Mick" because he shares his surname with 1970s

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Mick McManus. His second cousin

Kris Doolan The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...

was also a footballer, mainly for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, 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. ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McManus goal.''

Honours

Celtic *

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for 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' ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2004–05, 2006–07 *

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 ...

: 2005–06, 2008–09 Scotland U16 *

Victory Shield The Victory Shield is an annual football tournament competed for by the under-16 teams of Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The Victory Shield had traditionally been competed for by the four Home Nations, but the Football A ...

: 1997–98

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, Stephen 1982 births Living people Celtic F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Association football central defenders Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Scottish Premier League players People educated at Holy Cross High School, Hamilton English Football League players Sportspeople from Lanark Scottish Professional Football League players Motherwell F.C. non-playing staff Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from South Lanarkshire