.jpg) McInnes in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Derek John McInnes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-07-05)5 July 1971 (age 53)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Paisley,[1] Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kilmarnock (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Gleniffer Thistle | |||
| 1986–1988 | Greenock Morton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1995 | Greenock Morton | 224 | (19) |
| 1995–2000 | Rangers | 34 | (1) |
| 1998 | →Stockport County (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | →Toulouse (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2000–2003 | West Bromwich Albion | 88 | (6) |
| 2003–2006 | Dundee United | 74 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | Millwall | 13 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | St Johnstone | 30 | (0) |
| Total | 478 | (30) | |
| International career | |||
| 2002 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2011 | St Johnstone | ||
| 2011–2013 | Bristol City | ||
| 2013–2021 | Aberdeen | ||
| 2022– | Kilmarnock | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Derek John McInnes (born 5 July 1971) is a Scottish professionalfootball manager and formerplayer who is the manager ofScottish Premiership clubKilmarnock. He featured prominently forGreenock Morton,Rangers,West Bromwich Albion andDundee United during his playing career. He won two caps for theScotland national team while with West Brom.
McInnes became manager ofSt Johnstone where he had been on the playing staff, in November 2007. He guided the club to promotion to theScottish Premier League in 2009 and retained that status for two seasons. McInnes was appointed manager ofFootball League Championship clubBristol City in October 2011.[3] Despite avoiding relegation in2011–12, McInnes was sacked by Bristol City in January 2013 with the club bottom of the Championship. He was appointedAberdeen manager in March 2013 but was sacked eight years later in March 2021, having won theScottish League Cup in2014, finishedScottish Premiership runners-up on four occasions and reached three other cup finals during his spell in charge. In January 2022 McInnes was appointed manager of Kilmarnock on an 18-month deal, succeeding previous managerTommy Wright.
McInnes began his professional career in 1988 as a teenager atGreenock Morton, where he played in 259 games in all competitions over nine seasons[4] and credited the influence of assistant managerJohn McMaster,[5] before moving toRangers, where he spent almost five years as a squad player, taking part in 52 matches for theIbrox club;[6] his main achievement was winning theScottish Cup in1999 to clinch adomestic treble.[7] McInnes scored four goals for Rangers, with strikes againstFC Alania Vladikavkaz in the Champions League[8] and Hearts in the league.[9] He also scored twice againstAyr United[10] and Dunfermline[11] in Rangers' run to the1996 Scottish League Cup Final, but he did not feature in the final itself.
During his time inGlasgow, McInnes had a loan spell at English clubStockport County, where he made 13 league appearances. He was also briefly at French sideToulouse during a season in which the club was promoted from thesecond division, although he only featured in three league matches.
McInnes joinedWest Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2000, but acruciate ligament injury ended his season in October. He returned the following season to captain West Brom to a place in thePremier League. He also won West Brom's Goal of the Season award at the end of the promotion campaign, for his 25-yard strike againstSheffield United in theBattle of Bramall Lane.[12]
McInnes was the first West Brom player to be sent off in the Premier League. He was dismissed in the second half of the club's first Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford in August 2002.[13] He played in the majority of West Brom's Premier League games during the 2002–03 season but was unable to prevent them from being relegated. He made 88 league appearances and scored six times for theWest Midlands club.
McInnes joinedDundee United on 11 July 2003, and was immediately installed as team captain by managerIan McCall. In his first full season atTannadice, McInnes missed only three league and one cup game. He helped the club to a fifth-place finish in theScottish Premier League and scored twice—his first coming in theScottish Cup againstDunfermline and his second in a league match againstHearts. After an unsteady start to the2004–05 season, McInnes began to take control again in the centre of midfield. He then picked up an injury with a third of the season remaining but managed to return to the first team for theScottish Cup final at the end of the season.[14]
In April 2006, United managerCraig Brewster announced that McInnes was free to leave the club at the end of the season, despite having a year of his contract left to run.[15] He made 83 appearances for Dundee United, with four goals scored.[16]
On 24 June 2006, it was announced that McInnes had finally come to an agreement to be released from his contract and he subsequently joinedMillwall. The then-Lions bossNigel Spackman gave McInnes the captain's armband with the comment: "Every Millwall player on that pitch should be a Derek McInnes."[17] McInnes scored once during his spell with Millwall, his goal coming in a 3–2 defeat to Cheltenham on 26 August 2006.[18]
McInnes left Millwall on a free transfer during the January 2007transfer window, returning to Scotland to sign forSt Johnstone late on New Year's Day.[19] He made his debut for thePerth club on 6 January, againstAyr United in the Scottish Cup atMcDiarmid Park.
International recognition came late to McInnes as he made hisScotland debut on 21 August 2002, coming on as a substitute for the last ten minutes againstDenmark in a friendly. Three months later, againstPortugal, he was a substitute once again, coming on midway through the first half.[20]
McInnes was appointed manager of St Johnstone on 27 November 2007, after the previous management team ofOwen Coyle andSandy Stewart had departed forBurnley.[21] On 2 May 2009, McInnes secured promotion to theScottish Premier League for St Johnstone, ending their seven-year stint in theFirst Division.[22]
During the 2009–10 close season, McInnes was linked with the managerial positions at West Bromwich Albion andWatford.[23] He remained at St Johnstone, however, and in October 2009 he signed a new contract with thePerth club.[23]
McInnes was granted permission by St Johnstone to be interviewed byBristol City for their managerial position, alongside formerBarnsley managerMark Robins and another unnamed candidate, in October 2011. His managerial record with the Perth club was 177 games in charge, where he won 71 games, drew 53 games and lost 53 games.[3]
McInnes was appointed manager of Bristol City on 19 October 2011.[3] The club were adrift at the bottom of theFootball League Championship, but McInnes guided City to an eight-game unbeaten run that secured their league status.[24]
On 6 November 2012, following City's 2–0 loss toBirmingham City, McInnes gave £300 to 17 stranded fans who had their minibus tyres slashed outsideSt Andrew's Stadium.[25]
During the 2012–13 season, Bristol City suffered a club record seven consecutive defeats.[24] McInnes was sacked on 12 January 2013, after a 4–0 home defeat toLeicester City left the club eight points adrift of safety.[24] After being sacked by Bristol City, McInnes said that he was "very desperate" to succeed and that his time at Bristol City was difficult.[26]
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McInnes was appointedAberdeen manager on 25 March 2013, withTony Docherty as his assistant.[27] He officially took charge of the team after a match againstDundee United on 6 April, with outgoing managerCraig Brown taking charge of the last two games before the late-season split.[28] After the final game with Brown as manager, McInnes vowed to improve the club by helping the city ofAberdeen to "fall in love" with its football team again.[29]
Aberdeen remained unbeaten in September 2013, winning twice and drawing once in the league and progressing to the quarter-final of the League Cup with a 5–0 win overFalkirk. The team's excellent form earned McInnes the Manager of the Month award for September.[30]
The club had a positive start to 2014, taking maximum points from games against Dundee United,Kilmarnock andHibernian. At the end of the monthRussell Anderson scored in the 94th minute to level the game at 2–2 and secure a point for theDons againstMotherwell atFir Park to keep them in second place. McInnes praised his players and believed they "showed good determination to get something from the game."[31] He was rewarded for his efforts as he picked up the Manager of the month award for February.[32] Ahead of the League Cup final, McInnes signed an extension to his contract, tying himself to the club until the summer of 2017.[33]
Aberdeen won the2014 Scottish League Cup Final 4–2 on penalties, after a goalless draw, a success that saw them lift their first trophy in 19 years.[34] McInnes led Aberdeen to European qualification for the first time since 2009, achieved through a third-place finish in theleague campaign. However, McInnes was unsatisfied with the outcome when Motherwell beat Aberdeen 1–0 to take the second place. McInnes criticised the referee for ignoring the challenge when goalkeeperJamie Langfield was fouled byJohn Sutton, which later led to the goal scored byCraig Reid.[35] At the end of the season, McInnes was awarded bothPFA Scotland Manager of the Year andSFWA Manager of the Year.[36][37]
Early in the 2014–15 season, Aberdeen progressed through two qualifying rounds of theUEFA Europa League, including an aggregate victory against Dutch clubFC Groningen. Aberdeen finished second in the2014–15 Scottish Premiership and again qualified for European competition. During the 2015 close season, despite mounting speculation that he was in talks to take over at Rangers, McInnes signed a new contract with the club keeping him at Pittodrie until 2019.[38]
His Aberdeen team pushedCeltic almost all the way in theScottish Premiership title race in2015–16, with Celtic eventually beating Aberdeen 3–2 on 8 May 2016 to secure the league title with only two matches remaining.[39] Aberdeen had begun that season winning all of their first eight league matches.[40]
McInnes led Aberdeen to a third straight runners-up spot behind Celtic in season2016–17. His Aberdeen side also claimed its first win atIbrox since September 1991, with a 2–1 victory on 17 May.[41] Aberdeen also reached both domestic cup finals, losing both to Celtic.[42][43] The team went on a ten-match winning streak atPittodrie, which surpassedAlex Ferguson's Aberdeen record of nine consecutive home wins in1985–86 (although not a club record).[44][45] He was again shortlisted forPFA Scotland Manager of the Year,[46] but lost out to Celtic managerBrendan Rodgers.[47]
In June 2017, Aberdeen granted permission forSunderland to speak with McInnes about becoming their manager,[48] but he decided to stay with Aberdeen.[49] McInnes and Docherty subsequently signed a 1-year contract extension, keeping them with theDons until the summer of 2020.[50]Rangers made an approach for McInnes in December 2017 (immediately following two league games in four days between the clubs, both won by the Glasgow side)[51][52] but he rejected that offer as well.[53]
McInnes was sent off by the referee for gesturing at Celtic fans during a2018–19 Scottish Cup semi-final in April 2019.[54] He was apparently reacting tosectarian abuse by Celtic fans, which was investigated byPolice Scotland.[54][55]
In July 2019 he signed a new contract with Aberdeen, due to run until 2022.[56] After a poor run of results in early 2021, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack said that the board were "fully behind" McInnes.[57] This run of form continued, as Aberdeen scored one goal in nine matches, and McInnes left the club by mutual consent on 8 March 2021.[58][59][60]
McInnes was appointed manager ofScottish Championship clubKilmarnock on an 18-month deal in early January 2022.[61]On 22 April of the same year McInnes took Kilmarnock back to the Premiership by beatingArbroath 2–1 atRugby Park to win the Championship title.[62],McInnes'Kilmarnock finished 4th in the2023–24 Scottish Premiership season and therefore qualified for theUEFA Europa League Qualifiers and McInnes also won theSFWA Manager of the Year that same season.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Greenock Morton[4][a] | 1987–88 | Scottish Premier Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |
| 1988–89 | Scottish First Division | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 1 | ||
| 1989–90 | Scottish First Division | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 | 1 | ||
| 1990–91 | Scottish First Division | 34 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 38 | 3 | ||
| 1991–92 | Scottish First Division | 42 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 45 | 8 | ||
| 1992–93 | Scottish First Division | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 42 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Scottish First Division | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 18 | 1 | ||
| 1994–95 | Scottish Second Division | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 29 | 3 | ||
| 1995–96 | Scottish First Division | 12 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total | 224 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 249 | 20 | |||
| Rangers[6] | 1995–96 | Scottish Premier Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Scottish Premier Division | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 32 | 4 | |
| 1997–98 | Scottish Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Scottish Premier League | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1999–2000 | Scottish Premier League | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 52 | 4 | ||
| Stockport County (loan) | 1998–99 | Football League First Division | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 0 | ||
| Toulouse[citation needed] | 1999–2000 | French Division 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2000–01 | Football League First Division | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 18 | 1 | |
| 2001–02 | Football League First Division | 45 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 52 | 3 | ||
| 2002–03 | FA Premier League | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 30 | 2 | ||
| Total | 88 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 100 | 6 | |||
| Dundee United[16] | 2003–04 | Scottish Premier League | 35 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 37 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | Scottish Premier League | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Scottish Premier League | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 2 | ||
| Total | 74 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 83 | 4 | |||
| Millwall | 2006–07 | Football League One | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 15 | 1 | |
| St Johnstone | 2006–07 | Scottish First Division | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 21 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | Scottish First Division | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 478 | 30 | 38 | 1 | 30 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 555 | 35 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| St Johnstone | 27 November 2007 | 19 October 2011 | 177 | 71 | 53 | 53 | 040.11 |
| Bristol City | 19 October 2011 | 12 January 2013 | 63 | 17 | 14 | 32 | 026.98 |
| Aberdeen | 7 April 2013 | 8 March 2021 | 378 | 202 | 75 | 101 | 053.44 |
| Kilmarnock | 4 January 2022 | present | 152 | 57 | 38 | 57 | 037.50 |
| Total | 770 | 347 | 180 | 243 | 045.06 | ||
Greenock Morton
Rangers
West Bromwich Albion
Dundee United
St Johnstone
St Johnstone
Aberdeen
Kilmarnock
Individual
