Ross MacLaren

Ross MacLaren, sometimes erroneously spelled McLaren, (born 14 April 1962) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder.

Playing career MacLaren was born in Edinburgh. His league career in England began with Shrewsbury Town, having joined them from Rangers. He joined the club in 1980 and was there for four seasons playing 161 games and scoring 18 times. It was at Shrewsbury that he first moved from the role of a midfielder to that of a defender.

He moved to Derby County in 1985 for a fee of £67,00 and was voted Rams player of the year in his first season, 1985–86, in which Derby were promoted to Division Two. An ever present player in the team in his first two seasons, MacLaren was a key figure in Derby's second successive promotion; winning the Second Division Championship in his second season at the Baseball Ground.

In August 1988, he was bought by Swindon Town manager Lou Macari for £165,000, having previously being valued at £450,000.

MacLaren then became the chief scout at Aston Villa, working under John Gregory for the first time. Due to the managerial shake-up at Aston Villa in February 2002, he left Villa Park with Gregory to become a coach at Derby County. Suspended by Derby for six-weeks on 21 March 2003, MacLaren left the club by mutual consent on 10 May 2003.

He took over the management of Southend's under-18 team before returning to League football as assistant manager of League Two club Notts County. He left the club at the end of the 2005–06 season when his contract was not renewed.

Personal life MacLaren's brother Donald had a short career as a footballer with Dunfermline Athletic (after failing to break through at Heart of Midlothian) prior to emigrating to Australia. His nephew Jamie Maclaren, Donald's son, is also a footballer who has played in Scotland, England and Germany and for the Australian national team.