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Willie Donachie

b. 1951

Scottish football player and manager (born 1951)

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About Willie Donachie

Born 1951. Willie Donachie is a British association football player and association football coach.

Coaching career In July 1984, Donachie joined Oldham Athletic where he became player-assistant manager to Joe Royle. Under Royle and Donachie Oldham enjoyed considerable success at Boundary Park, taking the unfashionable minnows to the Premier League, League Cup Final and epic FA Cup semi-finals against Manchester United in the early 1990s.

When Royle left to manage Everton in 1995, Donachie followed as his assistant. Donachie then had a stint as first team coach at Sheffield United. Towards the end of the 1997–98 season he rejoined Royle at Manchester City. In May 2001, Royle was sacked, but Donachie opted to stay at Manchester City as first team coach under new manager Kevin Keegan. In November 2001 he left City to become assistant to Terry Yorath at Sheffield Wednesday. He resigned from his post at Hillsborough on 28 October 2002 to link up again with Joe Royle, who by now was manager of Ipswich Town.

Donachie left Portman Road in June 2006 after Jim Magilton was appointed as manager, this coming after Donachie had stated his interest in the job himself, and joined Millwall as assistant to Nigel Spackman. He was appointed manager of Millwall on 22 November 2006, after being caretaker manager following Spackman's sacking on 25 September 2006. Millwall had been in the relegation zone when Spackman left, but Donachie steadied the ship and Millwall finished the 2006–7 season in mid-table. On 19 March 2007, Donachie signed a two-year deal as manager. He was sacked by Millwall in October 2007, after a run of poor results left the club bottom of Football League One. He then took charge of the Antigua and Barbuda national team for a couple of games against Cuba in late 2008.

In December 2009, Donachie was appointed assistant director at Newcastle United's academy. In December 2010 he was promoted to development coach. On 6 February 2014, Donachie resigned after it was alleged that he had hit reserve player Remie Streete following a 2–0 defeat against Sunderland in an under-21s match.

In October 2014, Donachie was appointed assistant manager at Hartlepool United. On 6 December 2014 Donachie and manager Paul Murray were sacked by Hartlepool, following an FA Cup defeat to non-league Blyth Spartans. Donachie then became the head coach for Temecula FC in the National Premier Soccer League. Donachie joined Accrington Stanley in June 2017 as a youth technical coach.

Between September 2018 and June 2022 Donachie was manager of the Montserrat national football team, ahead of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying campaign, which doubled up as qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. An impressive campaign saw Montserrat qualify for League B of the Nations League and just miss out on Gold Cup qualification.

Donachie was appointed head coach of the women's team at Southport FC in September 2023.

Career statistics International

Managerial record

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
King's Park Secondary School
Also known as
William Donachie

People in Willie Donachie's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Willie Donachie's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Willie Donachie?

Scottish football player and manager (born 1951)

When was Willie Donachie born?

Willie Donachie was born on 5 October 1951 in Glasgow.

What is Willie Donachie's occupation?

Willie Donachie is an association football player and association football coach.

What nationality is Willie Donachie?

Willie Donachie is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Willie Donachie

· Wikidata: Q2634624

· DBpedia: Willie Donachie

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Willie Donachie. https://biography.guide/willie-donachie/

MLA: "Willie Donachie." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/willie-donachie/.

Chicago: "Willie Donachie." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/willie-donachie/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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