Brian Grant (footballer)

Brian Grant (born 19 June 1964) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer who is who played as a midfielder. He is currently head of player pathway and loans at Scottish Premiership club Dundee United. He spent twelve years as a player with Aberdeen, making over 300 appearances[1] and winning three major trophies. He also played for Stirling Albion, Hibernian and Dundee.

Brian Grant
Personal information
Full name Brian Grant
Date of birth (1964-06-19) 19 June 1964
Place of birth Bannockburn, Scotland
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Dundee United
(head of player pathway and loans)
Youth career
Fallin Violet
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1984 Stirling Albion 24 (3)
1984–1996 Aberdeen 262 (27)
1996–1998 Hibernian 17 (0)
1998–1999 Dundee 12 (0)
1999 → Stirling Albion (loan) 7 (1)
Total 322 (31)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Grant began his career in the early 1980s with local Stirling Albion, recovering from a double leg fracture[2] before joining Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen in 1984. He took some time to become a regular in the side ahead of older players who had won several domestic and European trophies,[1] but became established towards the end of the decade, winning both the Scottish League Cup[3] and the Scottish Cup[4] in the 1989–90 season, as well as playing a part in several other finals[5][6][7] and runners-up finishes in the Scottish Premier Division[8] (losing out to Rangers on every occasion). He later lifted the League Cup again in 1995,[9] a few months after helping the club avoid what would have been a first-ever relegation via a play-off.[10] In August 1996, Aberdeen played Everton in a testimonial for Grant, with the 9,000-plus crowd witnessing a 3-1 win for the Merseyside team.[11][12]

Midway through the 1996-97 season, Grant joined Hibernian for a £75,000 fee,[1] spending little over a year at Easter Road before a March 1998 move to Dundee. Towards the end of the 1998-99 season, returned to first club Stirling on loan,[1] scoring in what turned out to be his final match at senior level. Grant moved on to Bellshill Athletic at the end of the season and chose not to remain in football after retiring.

Later work

After retiring as a player, Grant managed a McDonald's franchise in Forfar.[13] He also remained involved in football, coaching Dundee United youth teams.[14][15] In February 2019, with the appointment of Andy Goldie as the club's new academy director, Grant moved to a new role as head of player pathway and loans.[16]

Personal life

Grant is the father of former Falkirk player Thomas Grant.[2][17]

Honours

Aberdeen[1]

References
  1. "Brian Grant". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. "Grant told to use Dad as inspiration". Scottish Professional Football League. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. "Bett the light of bold Aberdeen (page 19)". The Herald. 23 October 1989. Retrieved 27 October 2018 – via Google News Archive).
  4. Don Morrison (13 May 1990). "Cheers and tears". Sunday Mail. The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 27 October 2018 – via The Celtic Wiki.
  5. Reynolds, Jim (26 October 1987). "Spot-on Rangers earn the cheers". The Glasgow Herald. p. 9. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. McKinney, David (26 October 1992). "Football: Smith's slip gives Rangers the prize". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  7. "Football: Hateley cleans up for Rangers". The Independent. 29 May 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  8. "Flashback: 1991, Mark Walters and Scott Booth recall their part in Smith's maiden final-day triumph". The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  9. "Dodds and Shearer end Aberdeen's wait". The Independent. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  10. David McKinney (26 May 1995). "Aberdeen find form to preserve Premier status". The Independent. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  11. "Aberdeen v Everton". ToffeeWeb. 3 August 1996. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  12. "Match Report: Aberdeen 1 - 3 Everton". AFC Heritage Trust. 26 March 1997. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  13. "Caught in Time: Aberdeen's last hurrah". The Sunday Times. 21 September 2008.
  14. "Famous faces are spotted as the festival action builds up". Press and Journal. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  15. Neil Faskin (14 November 2017). "Lack of facilities holding back Dundee United". The National. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  16. Nicolson, Eric. "Dundee United appoint new academy director". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. "Grant makes Stenhousemuir move". Scottish Professional Football League. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
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