Alex Smith

Alex Smith MBE (born 25 December 1939) is a Scottish former football player and manager. His major achievements over close to five decades as a manager include winning the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren and 1990 with Aberdeen, where he also won the Scottish League Cup in 1989. He also won league titles with Stirling Albion and Clyde.

He managed the Scotland under-18, under-21 and under-23 teams.

He had a role in the development of many prominent players, In 1974, he became manager of Stirling Albion and would manage the club for 12 years, winning the Second Division championship in 1977. Smith nonetheless remained at the club until 1986 when he moved to St Mirren, with whom he won the Scottish Cup in 1987, overcoming that season's UEFA Cup finalists Dundee United with a young, all-Scottish team in a surprise result which endured as one of the Paisley club's most treasured achievements.

Smith would later manage Clyde, Dundee United and Ross County. He later worked as technical director at Falkirk. In June 2009 he was appointed assistant to the then head coach Eddie May. In March 2013 he was appointed interim manager at the club following the departure of Steven Pressley. He was again placed in interim charge in September 2017, after Peter Houston left. Smith was 77 years old, which made him the oldest manager of a professional football club in Europe at the time.

He retired from football at the end of the 2017–18 season to emigrate to Australia with his wife.

Smith was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2005 Birthday Honours for services to sport in Scotland.

Managerial statistics Falkirk (interim)24 September 20177 October 2017Total

Honours Player Stirling Albion Scottish Division Two: 1964–65

Manager Stenhousemuir Stirlingshire Cup: 1970–71

Stirling Albion Scottish Second Division: 1976–77 Stirlingshire Cup: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1983–84

St Mirren Scottish Cup: 1986–87

Aberdeen (co-manager with Jocky Scott) Scottish Cup: 1989–90 Scottish League Cup: 1989–90 Runners-up: 1988–89 Aberdeenshire Cup: 1989–90,1990–91

Clyde Scottish Second Division: 1992–93

Springfield United Australia - FQPL5 Metro Premiership: 2022 Australia - FQPL5 Metro Grand Final: 2022 Australia - SUFC Cup: 2021, 2022

Individual SPL Manager of the Month: March 2001, May 2001, January 2002