Pat McAllister

Patrick McAllister (born 3 February 1972 ) is a Northern Irish former football midfielder or defender who subsequently worked in football coaching. He is the manager of Sport & Leisure Swifts. His previous role in football was as manager of Donegal Celtic, where he resigned in August 2013.

Playing career A native of Belfast, McAllister began his career at Cliftonville. After making only six league appearances for the Reds, McAllister caught the eye of Scottish Premier Division side Dunfermline Athletic, who signed him in July 1990. Although McAllister remained at East End Park for two and a half seasons he made little impact at the club, managing only six Premier Division appearances for Dunfermline. He was a key member of the Coleraine side that won the 1995–96 First Division title by some distance whilst also capturing the Ulster Cup. However, he missed the Irish Cup final in 2004 due to suspension, with disciplinary problems a feature of his time at the club.

Coaching career In 2009 Donegal Celtic manager Paddy Kelly left the club and McAllister was appointed as his replacement. The move proved a success as the club were promoted to the IFA Premiership at the end of his first season in charge, defeating Institute in a play-off. However, despite this success McAllister quit as manager during the summer of 2010 for personal reasons and was replaced by Marty Tabb.

He served for a spell as assistant manager at Glenavon, although his contract was allowed to expire in May 2012 and he left the Lurgan club.

In October 2012 McAllister returned to the manager's position at Donegal Celtic when it became apparent that Declan McGreevy, who had only recently replaced Stephen Small as manager, did not possess the necessary coaching qualifications to work at that level. McAllister's second spell at the club was considerably less successful than his first as Donegal Celtic were relegated following a play-off defeat at the hands of Warrenpoint Town F.C. In the immediate aftermath of this result McAllister suggested that he was considering his future but did not quit. However, on 4 August 2013 McAllister once again announced his resignation as Donegal Celtic manager, stating that the club could not match his ambitions, after reports were released suggesting that they would be paying neither wages nor expenses to players in the coming season. Following his resignation several players and the chairman also departed the club.

McAllister returned to coaching during the 2013–14 season when he took charge of Sport & Leisure Swifts F.C. with the club lying bottom of the NIFL Championship 2. Although the club continued to struggle for much of the remainder of the season victory in their final day match against Chimney Corner F.C. ensured their survival. Following the confirmation of the club's survival McAllister was confirmed as manager for the 2014–15 season.