Stephen McManus

Stephen David McManus (born 10 September 1982) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is a first-team coach at Scottish Premiership club Celtic.

McManus, who played as a centre-back, was a product of Celtic's youth academy and rose through the ranks to become first team captain ahead of the 2007–08 season. He held this position until his move to Middlesbrough in 2010. After two loan spells with Bristol City, McManus finished his career with four seasons at Motherwell.

McManus also captained the Scotland national team, and made 26 international appearances between 2006 and 2010.

McManus retired from playing in 2017 and became a coach.

Club career Celtic McManus came through the ranks at Celtic and signed a professional contract on the same day as fellow defender John Kennedy. He made his debut for the first team, under Martin O'Neill, in the 2003–04 season against Hibernian, and finished that season with five league appearances as Celtic won the title.

On 3 October 2007, McManus scored to put Celtic a goal ahead against Milan at Celtic Park in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The match ended 2–1 in Celtic's favour with Kaká equalising for Milan before Scott McDonald scored a late winner for Celtic.

McManus lifted his first trophy as Celtic skipper on 22 May 2008, when Celtic won the 2007–08 SPL Championship following a 1–0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice Park on the last day of the season. Before the beginning of the 2008–09 SPL Championship it was announced that McManus would wear the No.4 shirt, after its previous owner Adam Virgo left the club in July 2008.

McManus fell out of favour under new manager Tony Mowbray, however, making only 14 appearances in the first part of the 2009–10 season. This meant that McManus linked up again with Gordon Strachan, who signed four other Celtic players during the January 2010 transfer window.

On 13 July 2010, McManus completed a £1.5 million move to the Teesside club signing a 3-year contract. McManus scored his second goal for Middlesbrough against Leicester City on 2 April 2011, his goal coming in the 94th minute to level the game at 3–3. At the end of the 2012–13 season, McManus was not offered a new contract and left the club.

Bristol City McManus signed for Bristol City on loan until the end of the season on 14 February 2012 and made his debut at home in the 2–2 draw against Crystal Palace the same day. He was recalled on 28 March, due to injury worries to Matthew Bates and Seb Hines following the match against Bristol City (McManus did not play against Boro). He then returned to Bristol City for a second loan spell the following season. His first and only goal for the club came in a 4–2 win over Peterborough United on 29 December 2012.

Motherwell On 15 July 2013, McManus signed a one-year deal with Scottish Premiership side Motherwell. He made his competitive debut for Motherwell in a home Europa League match against Russian side Kuban Krasnodar. Motherwell lost the match 2–0. His first goal for the club came in a 1–0 win over Hibernian on 3 November 2013. McManus made 42 appearances for Motherwell during the 2013–14 season, after which he signed a new two-year contract with the club.

On 14 August 2017, it was announced that McManus had decided to retire from playing football.

International career McManus earned his first cap at international level for Scotland on 11 October 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 2–0 defeat to Ukraine at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv. McManus scored his first goal for Scotland in a 3–1 win against Lithuania on 8 September 2007, He captained Scotland for the first time on 26 March 2008 in a friendly match against Croatia at Hampden Park, in the absence of regular captain Barry Ferguson. The game finished 1–1. On 7 September 2010 McManus scored a dramatic 97th minute winning header for Scotland in their 2–1 victory over Liechtenstein. His 26th and final cap came in October 2010, in a 3–2 defeat to Spain.

Personal life McManus was born in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. He attended Holy Cross RC Secondary School in Hamilton, the school which international and former club teammate Paul Hartley also attended. McManus and Hartley used to have a competition at training to see who could name the most teachers and the loser picked up all the balls. In 2008, after a Champions League game against Barcelona, McManus swapped jerseys with Leo Messi but has since lost it.

His nickname is "Mick" because he shares his surname with 1970s professional wrestler Mick McManus. His second cousin Kris Doolan was also a footballer, mainly for Partick Thistle.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McManus goal.

Honours Celtic Scottish Premier League: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 Scottish Cup: 2004–05, 2006–07 Scottish League Cup: 2005–06, 2008–09

Scotland U16 Victory Shield: 1997–98