Scott Ruscoe

Scott Ruscoe (born 15 December 1977) is a Welsh former professional footballer who is now manager at Welsh Premier League team The New Saints.

Scott Ruscoe
Ruscoe accepting the FAW club man of the year award.
Personal information
Full name Scott Ruscoe
Date of birth (1977-12-15) 15 December 1977
Place of birth Shrewsbury, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 The New Saints (manager)
Youth career
1994–1996 Stoke City
1996–1997 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Newtown 98 (17)
2000–2002 Chester City 49 (5)
2002–2016 The New Saints 326 (56)
Total 477 (78)
National team
Wales semi-pro 3 (0)
Teams managed
2017– The New Saints
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A central midfielder, he was capped by the Wales semi-pro team. A former youth team player with Stoke City and Port Vale, he made his first team debut at League of Wales side Newtown in 1997. He spent three years with the club before joining Conference club Chester City in June 2000. He returned to the League of Wales with TNS in January 2002, and would go on to spend the rest of his career there. During this time the club won the league championship eight times, the Welsh Cup four times, the Welsh League Cup six times, and the FAW Premier Cup once. He was inducted into the Welsh Premier League league Hall of Fame in November 2015.

He was appointed manager of The New Saints in May 2017. He secured the Welsh Premier League and Welsh League Cup titles in the 2017–18 season and the league title and the Welsh Cup in the 2018–19 season.

Playing career

Newtown

Ruscoe started his career with two years at Stoke City, and then a year at Port Vale, before he joined League of Wales side Newtown in 1997. He scored seven goals from 34 appearances in the 1997–98 season as the "Robins" finished as runners-up behind champions Barry Town. He then scored four goals from 31 league games in 1998–99 as the Latham Park club dropped to sixth-position. He scored six goals in 33 games in 1999–2000 as Newtown posted an eighth-place finish.

Chester City

On 23 June 2000, Ruscoe signed a two-year contract with Conference club Chester City.[1] He scores his first goal for the "Seals" on 28 November, coming off the bench to claim the winning goal in extra-time of an FA Cup first round victory over Third Division side Plymouth Argyle at Home Park.[2] He played a total of 37 league and cup games across the 2000–01 campaign, as the "Blues" posed an eighth-place finish under the stewardship of Graham Barrow. However he lost his first team place at the Deva Stadium after new manager Gordon Hill was sacked early in the 2001–02 season.

TNS

On 29 January 2002, Ruscoe joined TNS on a free transfer, signing an 18-month contract.[3] He scored three goals in 15 league games in the second half of the 2001–02 season as TNS finished as runners-up to Barry Town. He missed just two league games in the 2002–03 season, and scored nine goals in his 32 appearances, though TNS again finished as runners-up to Barry Town. He scored three goals in 26 matches in 2003–04 as TNS finished again in second place, just one point behind champions Rhyl. After three successive second-place finishes, he secured a league winners medal in 2004–05 after scoring three times in 31 games. The club retained their title with an 18-point margin in 2005–06, with Ruscoe claiming three goals from 30 league matches. A third consecutive title followed in 2006–07, Ruscoe claiming four goals from 29 matches.

He achieved a career best ten goals from 33 league appearances in 2007–08, however TNS finished as runners-up to Llanelli. They then dropped to third-place in 2008–09, with Ruscoe scoring five goals from 32 games. He played in the 2009 final of the Welsh League Cup, as TNS beat Bangor City 2–0 at Latham Park.[4] He scored eight goals from 32 games in 2009–10 as TNS claimed the fourth league title of his spell at the club. They dropped to second-place in 2010–11, behind champions Bangor City, despite Ruscoe contributing five goals from 32 league appearances. He scored the winning goal in the last minute of extra-time in the 2011 Welsh League Cup final, a 4–3 victory over Llanelli at Park Avenue.[5] He won a fifth league title in 2011–12, scoring twice from 22 games. A sixth league title followed in 2012–13, though he played just 14 league games, scoring once. He failed to make a first team appearance in 2013–14, played just twice in 2014–15, before retiring after failing to make a league appearance in the 2015–16 campaign.

During his time at the club the "Saints" won the league championship eight times, the Welsh Cup four times, the Welsh League Cup six times, and the FAW Premier Cup once. He also holds the league record for the most European appearances – with 30 games in total, and was named as Clubman of the Year by the Football Association of Wales in 2014.[6] He was inducted into the Welsh Premier League league Hall of Fame in November 2015.[7]

International career

Ruscoe won three caps for the Wales semi-pro team.

Style of play

Ruscoe was a central midfielder and a dead ball specialist.[8]

Managerial career

On 30 May 2017, Ruscoe was appointed interim manager of The New Saints following manager Craig Harrison's departure to Hartlepool United.[9][10] He led the club to victory over Gibraltar champions Europa in the first round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, and despite losing 7–1 in the following round to Croatian champions Rijeka, he was named as the club's permanent manager on 31 July.[11][12][13] On 20 January 2018, he secured his first silverware as manager, as Saints won the Welsh League Cup final with a 1–0 victory over Cardiff Metropolitan University.[14] He went on to lead the club to the Welsh Premier League title at the end of the 2017–18 season, as the Saints finished 14 points clear of second-place Bangor City.[15] He was also named as WPL Manager of the Month for September and January.[16]

Saints narrowly lost 5–4 on aggregate to Macedonian champions KF Shkëndija in the first round of qualification for the UEFA Champions League.[17] They defeated Gibraltarian side Lincoln Red Imps in the second round of Europa League qualification, before being beaten 5–1 on aggregate by Danish club Midtjylland. They went on to win the 2018–19 Welsh Premier League by a 12-point margin over Connah's Quay Nomads.[18] Defeated in the Welsh League Cup semi-finals, they went on to lift the Welsh Cup with a 3–0 victory over Connah's Quay Nomads.[19] They ended the 2019–20 campaign as runners-up after finishing behind Connah's Quay Nomads on points per game; the season had been curtailed early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales.[20]

Statistics
Club Season Division League National Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newtown[21] 1997–98League of Wales347
1998–99League of Wales314
1999–2000League of Wales336
Total 9817
Chester City 2000–01[22]Conference27131007[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]0372
2001–02[23]Conference22400001[lower-alpha 4]0234
Total 495310080606
TNS[21] 2001–02League of Wales153
2002–03Welsh Premier League329
2003–04Welsh Premier League263
2004–05Welsh Premier League313
2005–06Welsh Premier League303
2006–07Welsh Premier League294
2007–08Welsh Premier League3310
2008–09Welsh Premier League325
2009–10Welsh Premier League328
2010–11Welsh Premier League325
2011–12Welsh Premier League222
2012–13Welsh Premier League141
2013–14Welsh Premier League00
2014–15Welsh Premier League20
2015–16Welsh Premier League00
Total 32656
Career total 47778
  1. Includes appearance/s in Conference League Cup.
  2. Includes appearance/s in Football League Trophy.
  3. Includes appearance/s in FA Trophy.
  4. Includes appearance/s in Conference Shield.

Honours

Player
TNS[24]

Manager
Individual
TNS[24]

References
  1. "City Sign Ruscoe". www.chester-city.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. "Plymouth Argyle Football Club Official Web Page". 17 April 2001. Archived from the original on 17 April 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. "Ruscoe on move as City rebuild". Chester Chronicle. 29 January 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  4. "Untitled Document". welsh-premier.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. "Untitled Document". welsh-premier.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  6. "Scott Ruscoe - TNSFC". TNSFC. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  7. "Hall of Fame: Scott Ruscoe". Sgorio. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  8. "Scott Ruscoe: 2006/2007 Biography & Statistics - Welsh Premier League". www.welshpremier.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  9. "The New Saints: Scott Ruscoe and Steve Evans take interim charge of champions". BBC Sport. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  10. "Scott Ruscoe: Interim manager wants to succeed Craig Harrison at TNS". BBC Sport. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  11. "Europa 1-3 The New Saints (agg: 3-4)". BBC Sport. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  12. "Champions League: The New Saints 1-5 HNK Rijeka (1-7 agg)". BBC Sport. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  13. "The New Saints: Scott Ruscoe appointed permanent replacement for Craig Harrison". BBC Sport. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  14. "Match Report: - Welsh Premier League". www.wpl.cymru. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  15. "League Tables - Welsh Premier League". www.wpl.cymru. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  16. "WPL Manager of the Month - Welsh Premier League". www.wpl.cymru. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  17. "Scott Ruscoe full of pride for The New Saints' fightback". Shropshire Star. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  18. "The New Saints crowned Welsh Prem champions for 13th time". BBC Sport. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  19. Williams, Aled (5 May 2019). "Welsh Cup final: Connah's Quay Nomads 0-3 The New Saints". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  20. "Coronavirus: Welsh football season ends with Connah's Quay champions". BBC Sport. 19 May 2020.
  21. "Club guides". welsh-premier.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  22. "Games played by Scott Ruscoe in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  23. "Games played by Scott Ruscoe in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  24. Scott Ruscoe at Soccerway
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