| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William James Alexander McKinlay[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-04-22)22 April 1969 (age 56)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow,[1] Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Everton (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1984–1985 | Hamilton Thistle | ||
| 1985–1986 | Dundee United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1995 | Dundee United | 222 | (23) |
| 1995–2000 | Blackburn Rovers | 91 | (3) |
| 2000 | →Leicester City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Bradford City | 11 | (0) |
| 2001 | Preston North End | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Clydebank | 8 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Leicester City | 53 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Fulham | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 387 | (27) | |
| International career | |||
| 1988–1989 | Scotland U21 | 6 | (1) |
| 1990–1994 | Scotland B | 2 | (0) |
| 1990[3] | Scottish League XI | 1 | (0) |
| 1993–1998 | Scotland | 29 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014 | Watford | ||
| 2015–2016 | Stabæk | ||
| 2017 | Sunderland (caretaker) | ||
| 2019–2021 | Stoke City (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2024 | West Ham United (assistant) | ||
| 2025– | Everton (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William James Alexander McKinlay (born 22 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former professionalfootballer who is currently assistant manager ofEverton.
As a player, he was amidfielder who notably played in thePremier League forBlackburn Rovers,Leicester City,Bradford City andFulham. He also played in theScottish Premiership and Scottish Football League forDundee United, theFootball League forPreston North End and theScottish Football League forClydebank. McKinlay appeared 29 times forScotland and played atEuro 1996 and the1998 World Cup.
As a coach, he has worked for Fulham, theNorthern Ireland national team andWatford. He was appointed Watford head coach in September 2014 but left the post after eight days. After a spell as assistant head coach withReal Sociedad in Spain, he joined Norwegian clubStabæk in November 2015, before being sacked in July 2016. He has since worked atSunderland,Stoke City and West Ham United.
In January 2025, McKinlay joinedEverton as assistant head coach, working alongside head coachDavid Moyes.
A product of Dundee United's scouting and coaching network in the west of Scotland,Glasgow-born McKinlay was signed from Hamilton Thistle in 1986. He played in the1988 Scottish Cup final side at the age of 19, after only twelveScottish Football League appearances. He went on to play over two hundred matches for United, but missed out on the club's1994 Scottish Cup win due to suspension. He was named in theSPFA Team of the Year for 1994.[4]
Following Dundee United's relegation in 1995, McKinlay requested a transfer. He was sold to EnglishPremier League champions Blackburn Rovers in October 1995 for a fee of £1.75 million. After leaving Blackburn in 2000, McKinlay had brief spells withBradford City,Preston North End andClydebank. In 2002, he joinedLeicester City, scoring his only goal for them against Coventry City.[5] In 2004, Fulham managerChris Coleman signed McKinlay, primarily to assist the reserve squad.
McKinlay represented Scotland atunder-21[6] andB international[7] level before making his full debut in 1993. He made 14 appearances forScotland while with Dundee United, the last two as aFirst Division player. He is one of only three players from that division to play at full international level for Scotland since 1975.[citation needed] In total he played 29 times for Scotland between 1993 and 1998, scoring four goals. He was selected for theEuro 1996 and1998 World Cup squads, making one appearance at each tournament.
On 21 December 2007, Fulham first-team coachRay Lewington and reserve team manager McKinlay took over after managerLawrie Sanchez was sacked.Roy Hodgson was appointed nine days later.[8] McKinlay coached Fulham's reserve side and developed youth talent, and in 2012 became Northern Ireland assistant manager, but returned to Fulham to manage the side's 4–0 defeat at Everton, on 28 April 2012 due toMartin Jol's chest infection and was again in charge on Merseyside, for Fulham's win against Liverpool. On 2 December 2013, McKinlay left Fulham after Martin Jol's departure a day earlier.[9]
McKinlay was appointed asWatford first-team coach, under head coachÓscar García, on 26 September 2014.[10] McKinlay replaced Garcia a few days later as head coach, after the Spaniard resigned due to suffering from ill health.[11] McKinlay relinquished his role as Northern Ireland's assistant manager after becoming the Watford manager.[12] After just eight days in the job, McKinlay was replaced as Watford head coach bySlaviša Jokanović.[13] McKinlay had taken charge of two matches, a win againstBrentford and a draw withBrighton.[13]
On 27 November 2014, McKinlay joined Spanish clubReal Sociedad as an assistant coach, working alongsideDavid Moyes.[14] He was sacked, along with Moyes, on 9 November 2015.[15]
On 30 November 2015, McKinlay was appointed as manager of NorwegianTippeligaen sideStabæk Fotball on a two-year contract.[16] McKinlay resigned as manager on 8 July 2016, after being knocked out of theEuropa League byConnah's Quay Nomads.[17]
McKinlay joinedSunderland as a scout, initially under Moyes, in 2016. In October 2017 he was promoted to a temporary first team coaching role by managerSimon Grayson when assistant managerGlynn Snodin became ill.[18] Following Grayson's sacking, McKinlay andRobbie Stockdale were appointed the club's joint caretaker managers in November 2017.[19] After one game in charge, a 1–0 loss against Middlesbrough on 5 November 2017,[20]
McKinlay left Sunderland to take a coaching position atWest Ham United.[21] He left the east London club at the end of the2017–18 season, after managerDavid Moyes' contract was not renewed.[22]
McKinlay joinedStoke City on 21 November 2019, as assistant manager toMichael O'Neill.[23][24] McKinlay left Stoke by Mutual consent on 12 April 2021.[25]
In July 2021, McKinlay rejoined West Ham United as part of David Moyes' coaching staff.[26] Upon the departure of club manager,David Moyes in May 2024, McKinlay left the club with other coaches and back-room staff.[27]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1993 | 1 | 1 |
| 1994 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 1993 | National Stadium,Ta' Qali, Malta |  Malta | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 20 April 1994 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion,Vienna, Austria |  Austria | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 12 October 1994 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Faroe Islands | 4–0 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualification |
| 4 | 7 June 1995 | Svangaskarð,Toftir, Faroes | Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualification |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Watford | 29 September 2014 | 7 October 2014 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 |
| Stabæk | 30 November 2015 | 8 July 2016 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 030.00 |
| Sunderland (joint caretaker) | 1 November 2017 | 12 November 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 |
| Total | 23 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 030.43 | ||
Scotland squads | |||||||
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