Mike Pejic

Michael Pejic (born 25 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back in the English Football League for Stoke City, Everton and Aston Villa, also representing England.

Pejic started his career with Stoke City under the management of Tony Waddington. He became an important player in Stoke's successful early 1970s side, helping the club win the League Cup in 1972. He was renowned for being a tough player and was prone to being sent off, and on one occasion was suspended for five matches. He broke his leg in February 1975, and in his absence, City's genuine First Division title challenge fell away. He was sold to Everton for a £135,000 fee in February 1977, where he played three seasons before joining Aston Villa in 1979. He retired due to injury in 1980.

He later managed Leek Town, Northwich Victoria, Chester City, and Malaysian side Selangor FA, and also coached Port Vale from 1986 to 1992. In the late 2000s, he coached at Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town.

Club career Stoke City Pejic was born in Chesterton in Newcastle-under-Lyme on Wednesday, 25 January 1950, and supported Stoke City from an early age. His father, a Serbian immigrant miner from Yugoslavia, took him to watch the matches at the Victoria Ground. In his teenage years Pejic was playing for Newcastle-under-Lyme schools as a left-winger and signed professional forms with Stoke in 1967, where manager Tony Waddington decided to convert him into a left-back.

International career Pejic won eight caps for the England under-23 team. Alf Ramsey handed him his full England debut in a friendly against Portugal in Lisbon on 3 April 1974; the game finished 0–0. He took the "Vics" to a 16th-place finish in the Alliance Premier League in 1985–86. He also ran a fruit and veg business. He helped manager John Rudge to lead the club to promotion in 1988–89.

Chester City manager Pejic was named Chester City manager in June 1994 after the shock resignation of Graham Barrow. He inherited a very bare side after the loss of several key players, and an immediate relegation back to the Third Division was inevitable after the side began the 1994–95 season without a point from their first seven games. Pejic was sacked in January 1995 after a 4–0 thrashing by York City at the Deva Stadium. He returned to Leek Town as caretaker manager in 1998, before the appointment of Ernie Moss.

Later career He went on to be the regional director for the North East FA and has coached such stars as Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing. He then taught FA coaching courses at NWHC in Nuneaton. In 1999, he managed Malaysian side Selangor FA. He also coached in Zimbabwe and Kuwait. On 14 November 2010, Pejic was suspended from his coaching role at Ipswich Town after allegations of bullying.

Taekwondo career He took up the martial art of taekwondo at 62 and earned a place in the national team for the over-60 age group. In April 2019, he became the over 65's Taekwondo European champion after winning the gold medal in Antalya, Turkey.

Personal life Pejic married in December 1970 and again in April 1991. He married his third wife, Marilyn – younger sister of singer Jackie Trent, in August 2017. His younger brother, Mel, played for Stoke City, Hereford United and Wrexham. Shaun Pejic, the son of Mel and nephew of Mike, was in the Wales under-21 team. Pejic worked as a co-commentator on Stoke City matches for a local radio station, Signal 1. He also writes a column about Stoke in the Saturday edition of The Sentinel.

Career statistics Club

International + Appearances and goals by national team and year

Honours Stoke City League Cup: 1972 Watney Cup: 1974

England British Home Championship: 1973–74 (shared)