John McGreal

Burnley McGreal refused the offer of a new deal to remain with Ipswich in the summer of 2004 and instead opted to sign for Burnley on a three-year deal. Manager Steve Cotterill described McGreal as "one of the best defenders in the First Division". He made his debut for the side on 7 August 2004 in a 1–1 home draw with Sheffield United, before scoring what was to be his only goal for Burnley in a 3–0 win over Crewe Alexandra at Turf Moor on 11 September. He formed an excellent centre-back partnership with Frank Sinclair and made 45 appearances in his first season with the "Clarets". while he could only manage 23 first-team appearances during 2006–07 in a season again affected by injury. He then returned to the Ipswich area, and following advice from Town manager and his ex-teammate Jim Magilton, he studied for his UEFA B Licence.

Style of play McGreal was a "calm, cultured" defender in the mould of Alan Hansen. McGreal joined the club's Academy as a professional development coach. and led the side to the Football League Youth Alliance South East title and won the Youth Alliance Cup in April 2014. Following Richard Hall's promotion to assistant manager in September 2014, McGreal stepped up to replace Hall as under-21s manager.

McGreal was named as interim manager at Colchester United alongside Richard Hall following Tony Humes dismissal as manager on 26 November 2015. However, following a 5–1 defeat against Burton Albion in his only match in charge, he was appointed assistant to Wayne Brown, who was named caretaker manager on 2 December. Following Kevin Keen's appointment as permanent Colchester manager, McGreal reverted to his former role as under-21 coach.

After Kevin Keen left Colchester following the club's relegation to League Two on 26 April 2016, McGreal was appointed his successor on 4 May. He did not take charge of Colchester until after the final game of the 2015–16 season, in which his assistant Steve Ball was named caretaker. The club signed a number of players in preparation for the 2016–17 season, including defenders Luke Prosser (who he appointed as captain ) and Lewis Kinsella; midfielders Brennan Dickenson, Craig Slater and Doug Loft; and forwards Courtney Senior, Kurtis Guthrie, and Denny Johnstone. However top-scorer George Moncur was sold to Barnsley for £500,000. In his first match in charge on 6 August, McGreal guided his side to a 1–1 opening day draw away to Hartlepool United. He earned his first win on 13 August as his side defeated Cambridge United 2–0 at the Colchester Community Stadium. After three wins and one draw in Colchester's opening five league fixtures, McGreal was nominated for the League Two Manager of the Month award for August. After an eleven-game winless run, McGreal's side went undefeated in December, earning ten points from a possible twelve which propelled Colchester up the League Two table away from the relegation zone. In turn, McGreal was shortlisted for the League Two Manager of the Month award for December. He won the award on 6 January 2017, becoming the first Colchester manager to win the award since Paul Lambert in January 2009. Later that month he signed Sean Murray on a free transfer from Swindon Town. The "U's" finished the season eighth in the table, one place and one point behind Blackpool in the play-offs, who would go on to achieve promotion. McGreal released eight players, whilst also losing top-scorer Chris Porter, who left on a free transfer to sign with Crewe Alexandra.

Needing to find a new goalscorer for the 2017–18 season, McGreal signed Mikael Mandron from Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee. He also brought in goalkeeper Rene Gilmartin and midfielder Ryan Jackson. The young side's good form continued into December, where they picked up 11 points from a possible 15 to earn him yet another Manager of the Month nomination. However they struggled in the second half of the campaign, despite holding on to top-scorer Sammie Szmodics in the January transfer window, and ended the season in 13th-place. McGreal released four senior players and seven from the U-23 team. Sam Walker and Sean Murray also departed after failing to agree new deals.

McGreal strengthened his front-line for the 2018–19 season, signing midfielder Harry Pell (undisclosed six-figure fee) and strikers Frank Nouble (free transfer) and Luke Norris (undisclosed fee). Colchester enjoyed a strong first half of the campaign, and a 1–0 win at Milton Keynes Dons saw them head into Christmas in the automatic promotion places. He signed Ben Stevenson on a permanent basis in January. However the promotion campaign faltered, and despite beating champions Lincoln City on the final day, Colchester ended in eighth-place, a point outside the play-offs. He released Mikael Mandron in the summer, along with Ryan Gondoh. However he lost a series of players who turned down new contract offers: Brennan Dickenson, Sam Saunders, Rene Gilmartin and Dillon Barnes; whilst Frankie Kent, Sammie Szmodics and Kane Vincent-Young were sold on to other clubs.

He signed a number of young players to replace those that had departed: Kwame Poku, Luke Gambin, Omar Sowunmi, Jevani Brown, Cohen Bramall and Callum Harriott. The team reached the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, eliminating both Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur on penalties after holding both Premier League teams to 0–0 draws. In the quarter-finals they were beaten 3–0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford. The season ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England and the table was decided on points per game with Colchester in the play-offs in sixth-place. However the club announced that 16 players would be released at their end of their contracts, with chairman Robbie Cowling admitting that he "would have been determined to re-sign" Brandon Comley, Ryan Jackson, Frank Nouble and Luke Prosser in normal circumstances. Colchester lost out to Exeter City after extra-time in the play-off semi-finals and McGreal was subsequently dismissed by the club on 14 July 2020 as Cowling felt that "significant changes are required that will be best served with a new head coach". McGreal said he was "deeply saddened" with the decision to end his 11-year association with the club and that "the memories of this season will live with me forever".

Swindon Town On 26 May 2021, McGreal was appointed manager of recently relegated League Two side Swindon Town, but on 25 June, after less than a month in the job, McGreal left Swindon by mutual consent, as ownership issues prevented him signing new players.

Ipswich Town On 2 December 2021, McGreal returned to Ipswich Town, a club he made 150 appearances for, in a coaching role that would see him work with the U23s and Development squads. Just four days later, following the sacking of manager Paul Cook, McGreal was named as interim manager. McGreal oversaw 4 games in charge, drawing 2 and losing 2, before new manager Kieran McKenna was appointed. McGreal then returned to his previous role with the clubs' U23s before they became the U21s at the start of the 2022/23 season.

Management style McGreal has a reputation for playing "attacking, free-flowing" football with a "fluid 4–2–3–1 system".

Career statistics Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours As a Player Ipswich Town Football League First Division play-offs: 2000

As a Manager Individual EFL League Two Manager of the Month: December 2016