Neil Doherty McCann (born 11 August 1974) is a Scottish
football manager
''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...
, pundit and former professional
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 ...
who played as a
left winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. His most recent role in football was a stint as the caretaker manager of
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional ...
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
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 ...
in full international matches.
After working as a pundit for
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
he was appointed manager of Dundee in 2017 before being sacked in October 2018.
Mo Johnston
Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored 23 leag ...
. He scored two goals in a 3–0 win for Rangers against their arch-rivals Celtic on 2 May 1999, which clinched the
1998–99 Scottish Premier League
The 1998–99 Scottish Premier League season (also known as the 1998–99 Bank of Scotland Scottish Premier League for sponsorship reasons from 11 March) was the inaugural season of Scottish Premier League football, the top division of Scottish ...
title. McCann left Rangers in 2003, as the club were forced to sell him due to financial problems. Speaking in February 2019, McCann said that he had been subject to sectarian abuse from Celtic fans that stemmed from his decision to sign for Rangers.
He joined
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on 5 August 2003, for £1.5 million. A series of injuries made it difficult for him to maintain his place in the team. McCann scored one goal for Southampton, in a
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 ...
tie against
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
. His contract with Southampton was terminated by mutual consent in January 2006.
On 17 January 2006, McCann rejoined Hearts. He sustained a medial knee ligament injury while playing in his first match after returning to Hearts, which meant that he missed the rest of the 2005–06 season (including the
2006 Scottish Cup Final
The 2006 Scottish Cup Final was played on 13 May 2006 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 120th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Heart of Midlothian (Hearts), who beat Hibernian 4–0 in the semi-final, and Gretna, who ...
). McCann played in 28 games during the 2006–07 season, but then suffered a double leg break during a game at
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 al ...
on 25 August 2007.
On 14 May 2008 it was announced that McCann had signed for Falkirk. He scored on his Falkirk debut, against former club Hearts, and then scored in League Cup ties against Queen of the South and Inverness. His last appearance for Falkirk was in the
2009 Scottish Cup Final
The 2009 Scottish Cup Final was the final of the 124th season of the main domestic football cup competition in Scotland, the Scottish Cup. The final was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 30 May 2009. The match was contested by Rangers, who we ...
. McCann was released on 22 August 2009 after managerial changes at Falkirk, with outgoing manager John Hughes (the manager that signed him) being replaced by Eddie May.
On 12 February 2011, McCann came out of retirement to help Dundee stave-off relegation from the First Division. He scored a last minute goal in his first appearance, against Raith Rovers. McCann was inducted into the Dundee FC Hall of Fame in 2016.
International career
McCann made his full international debut for Scotland on 5 September 1998, coming on as a late substitute for
Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit.
McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...
in a goalless draw against Lithuania. His first appearance in the starting line-up was on 31 March 1999 in a 2–1 home defeat to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. McCann scored three goals for Scotland, including two in
UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
Qualification for the 2004 UEFA European Championship took place between September 2002 and November 2003.
Fifty teams were divided into ten groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice, once at home and once away. The top te ...
matches against the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He made 26 appearances for Scotland, with his last coming in a 1–1 draw with the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in November 2005.
Coaching career
Dunfermline
McCann 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 ...
as a coach in July 2012, initially on a voluntary basis. The club entered
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
in March 2013 and suffered a second successive relegation. When Dunfermline exited administration in December 2013, manager Jim Jefferies and McCann were both offered new contracts. Jefferies retired early in December 2014, leaving McCann and John Potter in charge of the team. On 30 April 2015, McCann decided to leave Dunfermline.
Dundee manager
McCann's first managerial position came 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 Scottis ...
side Dundee, where he was appointed on an interim basis on 18 April 2017. McCann oversaw five matches for his former team, securing the side's place in the top tier of Scottish football. Dundee announced on 29 May that McCann would leave the club, then had an approach for Jack Ross rejected by St Mirren. On 1 June, McCann was appointed Dundee manager on a permanent basis. He was sacked by the club on 16 October 2018, with Dundee bottom of the
2018–19 Scottish Premiership
The 2018–19 Scottish Premiership (known as the Ladbrokes Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 15 June 2018 and the se ...
after collecting just three points from eight games.
Inverness caretaker
After John Robertson was given compassionate leave in February 2021, McCann was appointed caretaker manager of
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
club
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional ...
. McCann left this position after the 2020–21 season was completed, with Robertson returning in a sporting director role and a new manager to be appointed. Inverness chief executive Scot Gardiner said in May 2021 that the arrangement with McCann had always been intended to be temporary, but that he had tried to persuade McCann to stay in the position longer.
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
, providing analysis on their coverage of
football in Scotland
Association football ( sco, fitbaa, gd, ball-coise) is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Sc ...
, after he left Falkirk in 2009. McCann left Sky in June 2017, when he was appointed Dundee manager on a permanent basis. He now works for Sky Sports,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and RangersTV as a pundit.
Career statistics
International
:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McCann goal''.
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 ...