Stephen Frail

Stephen Charles Frail (born 10 August 1969) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He played for Dundee, Heart of Midlothian, Tranmere Rovers, St Johnstone and Greenock Morton. Returning to Hearts as a coach, he was in charge of the first team between 2007 and 2008, partially alongside Anatoliy Korobochka.

Playing career Frail began his career with Archie Knox's Dundee in 1985, gradually developing into a first-team player by the end of the decade. He helped the Dens Park side to victory in the inaugural Scottish Challenge Cup in 1990–91, however his progress was hindered by a serious knee ligament injury, causing him to miss almost an entire season.

Frail joined Hearts in a £130,000 deal in March 1994 and his form during the 1994–95 season as a right wingback led to media speculation of a call-up to the Scotland national side. He was named in the SPFA Team of the Year for 1994. Injuries continued to hinder him though and in an away match at Dundee United on 21 March 1995 he suffered similar knee ligament damage to that he sustained while with Dundee. He missed the entire 1995–96 season and upon his return to fitness found his previous role in the team taken by Gary Locke. Unable to maintain a permanent position in the team he filled-in as a defensive midfielder when required as well as deputising for Locke but left Edinburgh for Merseyside when Tranmere Rovers paid £90,000 for his services in January 1998.

Following a familiar pattern, Frail's time with Tranmere was decimated by injuries and he made less than 30 total appearances during his two seasons with the club. He is best remembered for his involvement in a controversial incident in an FA Cup tie with Sunderland, when a bureaucratic mix-up resulted in him being substituted on for Clint Hill who, unbeknown to Frail, had just been sent-off for a second bookable offence. After several minutes of commotion another player left the field to ensure Tranmere didn't avoid their punishment.

In April 2009, Frail was appointed a coach at Celtic, working with their reserve and youth teams. He left this position on 1 September 2015.

After leaving Celtic, Frail worked with the Scotland U16 team and scouted for Bolton Wanderers before the Irish Football Association appointed him to be full-time manager of the Northern Ireland Under 19 and Under 17 teams in August 2016. Frail returned to Scotland in July 2020, becoming assistant manager at Dundee United.

In June 2021, Frail left Dundee United.