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 McDonald as a coach withWest Ham United in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Raymond McDonald | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-11-02)2 November 1965 (age 60) | ||
| Place of birth | Wallsend, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Youth career | |||
| Wallsend Boys Club | |||
| Carlisle United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1988 | Newcastle United | 180 | (24) |
| 1988–1991 | Everton | 90 | (4) |
| 1991–1994 | Oldham Athletic | 21 | (1) |
| 1994–1995 | Bolton Wanderers | 6 | (0) |
| 1995–1998 | Preston North End | 34 | (0) |
| Total | 331 | (29) | |
| International career | |||
| 1983–1984 | England Youth | 5 | (1) |
| 1986–1987 | England U21 | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Carlisle United | ||
| 2007 | Östersunds FK | ||
| 2015–2016 | Blackpool | ||
| 2017–2018 | Limerick | ||
| 2022 | Walsall (caretaker) | ||
| 2025–2026 | Barrow (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Neil Raymond McDonald (born 2 November 1965) is afootball manager, coach and former player, in the right back and midfield positions.[2] He was most recently caretaker manager atBarrow.
During his career he played for theEngland under 21 team. As a manager, he has been in charge atCarlisle United andÖstersunds FK.
Born inWallsend,North Tyneside, McDonald started his playing career at his local youth teamWallsend Boys Club before joining Carlisle United as a schoolboy, where he represented England at schoolboy level. He then joinedNewcastle United as an apprentice where he went on to play over 200 league and cup games. He also was an England Youth and England under 21 international while atSt. James'.
McDonald then joinedEverton, for £525,000, in the summer of 1988. At Everton he played in the1989 FA Cup Final against local rivalsLiverpool. Everton lost the game 3–2.
McDonald's Everton career lasted 3 years with McDonald playing over 100 league and cup games. Memorable moments, apart from the 1989 FA Cup final appearance, were being part of the Everton side that topped the First Division in the late autumn of 1989 (though they were unable to sustain their title challenge in the long run and finished sixth) and being voted club player of the year for the1990–91 season.[3]
In October 1991 he joinedOldham Athletic, newly promoted to the top tier, for £500,000. He stayed there for three seasons, overseeing two successful battles against relegation before they were finally relegated from theFA Premier League in 1994. He also helped them reach theFA Cup semi finals in 1994, and they were 1–0 up againstManchester United in extra time atWembley when a late equaliser fromMark Hughes forced a replay and put Oldham's dreams of a first ever FA Cup final appearance on ice. A few days later they were crushed 4–1 in the replay and McDonald was robbed of yet another chance of FA Cup glory.
After Oldham's relegation, he signed for Bolton Wanderers and helped them win promotion to theFA Premier League as Division One playoff winners in1994–95, as well as reaching theFootball League Cup final where they lost 2–1 toLiverpool. He was out of action for the most part of his time with Bolton with a broken ankle. but returned in time for their end of season Play Off, firstly he was sent off in their semi-final defeat againstWolves and then he was subbed at half time in Bolton's Play Off win overReading atWembley Stadium.
A £40,000 move took him to Preston North End in November 1995, and he remained atDeepdale until his retirement from playing at the end of the1998–99 season.In his first season at Preston, they won promotion as Division Three champions, and by the time of his retirement three years later, they had qualified for the Division Two playoffs. Although they lost out that season, they won promotion a year later as champions. He ended his playing career at Preston a year after the appointment ofDavid Moyes (later manager of McDonald's former club Everton) as manager.
McDonald was a coach at several teams. His first coaching job was withPreston North End he started this in 1997 as a player/coach and taking the coaching role on a full-time basis in 1998. Then in the year 2000 he joinedSam Allardyce's backroom staff atBolton Wanderers as first-team coach and earning hisUEFA Pro Licence while atThe Reebok. He joinedCrystal Palace in 2005 to becomeIain Dowie's assistant.
He subsequently became Carlisle United manager in summer 2006,[4] followingPaul Simpson's departure toPreston North End.
McDonald had a winning start in his first competitive match as manager, beatingDoncaster Rovers 1–0 on 5 August 2006 atBrunton Park inLeague One. The team finished the season in 8th place, Carlisle's highest league placing in 20 years. McDonald was sacked from his post as Carlisle United manager on 13 August 2007, a statement on the club's website read"The board of Carlisle United regret to say that they have lost confidence in Neil McDonald and are terminating his contract forthwith."[5]
On 11 September 2007 he took over as manager of Swedish club Östersunds FK,[6] managing the team for a five-week period, during which he saved the club from relegation.
In November 2007 he joinedLincoln City, where former Newcastle teammatePeter Jackson had previously been appointed manager, as his assistant.[7] This appointment didn't last long however, as a few months later in February 2008, McDonald was appointed as head coach underGary McAllister at Leeds United.
On 18 December 2008 he was reunited with Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers, as assistant manager. On 21 November 2009 it was announced that McDonald would take charge of three Blackburn Rovers matches against Bolton Wanderers,Fulham andStoke City during which time manager Sam Allardyce would be undergoing heart surgery. He also took charge of a fourth match in theFootball League Cup in which Rovers played league leadersChelsea for a place in the semi-finals. Rovers won the game after a penalty shootout after a 3–3 draw. On 13 December 2010 McDonald was sacked by Blackburn's new owners along with Allardyce. Following his appointment as manager, on 1 June 2011, Allardyce announced McDonald as his assistant manager at West Ham United.[8]
On 2 June 2015 he was announced as manager ofBlackpool.[9] Following Blackpool's relegation toLeague Two, McDonald left his role as Blackpool manager.[10]
On 24 October 2016, McDonald was appointed as assistant head coach atHull City.[11] He left the club in January 2017, following the sacking of head coachMike Phelan.[12]
McDonald was announced as the new manager ofLeague of Ireland Premier Division clubLimerick on 18 May 2017.[13]
On 4 January 2018, McDonald joined Scunthorpe United to becomeGraham Alexander's assistant.[14]
On 30 May 2018, McDonald joinedSwindon Town as assistant manager toPhil Brown.[15]
On 12 November 2018, McDonald was sacked as assistant manager atSwindon Town[16]
On 1 October 2019, McDonald joined Indian clubHyderabad inISL as assistant manager toPhil Brown.[17] On 11 January 2020,Phil Brown and McDonald was sacked byHyderabad for poor performance of the newly formed club.[18]
On 19 May 2021, McDonald was appointed assistant coach to Matt Taylor atWalsall. Following the sacking of Taylor on 9 February 2022, McDonald was put in temporary charge of the club.[19] His first game in temporary charge saw his side end a seven-match losing streak against second placedTranmere Rovers.[20] On 15 February, following the appointment ofMichael Flynn, McDonald departed the club.[21]
On 21 March 2022, McDonald was appointed assistant manager, again to Phil Brown, atBarrow until the end of the2021–22 season. McDonald had worked at the club the previous season, supportingRob Kelly as Barrow avoided relegation, hoping to achieve a similar feat in the nine remaining matches of the campaign.[22]
On 8 June 2023, McDonald has been appointed as assistant coach atBengaluru FC.[23]
On 16 January 2024, McDonald was appointed as assistant manager to Phil Brown atKidderminster Harriers.[24] The duo signed a new two-year deal following relegation at the end of the season.[25]
On 1 August 2025, McDonald was announced as assistant first-team manager atHartlepool United, as part ofSimon Grayson's new backroom team ahead of the 2025–26 season.[26] He left the club on 6 October.[27]
He was named interim manager ofBarrow A.F.C. on December 10th.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Carlisle United |  | 17 June 2006 | 13 August 2007 | 51 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 037.25 |
| Östersund |  | 11 September 2007 | 13 October 2007 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 040.00 |
| Blackpool | | 2 June 2015 | 18 May 2016 | 50 | 13 | 10 | 27 | 026.00 |
| Limerick |  | 18 May 2017 | 4 January 2018 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 038.46 |
| Walsall (caretaker) | | 9 February 2022 | 15 February 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Barrow (caretaker) | | 10 December 2025 | 2 January 2026 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 020.00 |
| Total | 142 | 47 | 34 | 61 | 033.10 | |||
His daughterElla McDonald is a professional tennis player.[31]
