Stephen Wright (Scottish footballer)

Stephen Wright (born 27 August 1971) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a right back. Wright is currently the Head of Academy for Dundee.

Stephen Wright
Personal information
Full name Stephen Wright[1]
Date of birth (1971-08-27) 27 August 1971
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Position(s) Right back
Club information
Current team
 Dundee (Head of Academy)
Youth career
Eastercraigs B.C.
1986–1990 Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1995 Aberdeen 147 (2)
1995–1998 Rangers 7 (0)
1998 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 3 (0)
1998–2000 Bradford City 22 (0)
2000–2002 Dundee United 14 (0)
2002 Scunthorpe United 2 (0)
Total 195 (2)
National team
1991–1993 Scotland U21 15 (0)
1993 Scotland 2 (0)
1994–1995 Scotland B 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Club

Raised in Hamilton,[2] Wright started his career with Aberdeen – progressing through the ranks alongside Eoin Jess and Scott Booth – and made 181 first team appearances for the Dons; he was part of the squad that came close to winning the League title on the last day of the Scottish Premier League in the 1990–91 season,[3][4] and achieved further league runners-up finishes in 1992–93 and 1993–94, as well as reaching the 1992 Scottish League Cup Final[5] and 1993 Scottish Cup Final, losing out to Rangers on every occasion.[6] In 1994–95 the club's results were unexpectedly poor and they escaped relegation only via a play-off;[7] these turned out to be Wright's last matches for the club, and the situation also meant his wedding took place in the short time between the regular season and the matches against Dunfermline Athletic rather than in a more relaxed atmosphere after its conclusion, as he had planned.[4]

In the summer of 1995, he joined his boyhood heroes (and Aberdeen's main rivals) Rangers[2] for £1.5m. Much of his time at Ibrox was spent injured, following a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a UEFA Champions League match against Juventus in his first season.[2] After just seven league appearances in three years (his spell with the Gers coincided almost exactly with that of Paul Gascoigne[2] who in contrast played over 100 times), Wright had a loan spell with Wolverhampton Wanderers before joining Bradford City in 1998, where he reunited with former Rangers teammate Stuart McCall[4] and helped the club gain promotion to the Premier League in his first season, although he did not make a league appearance in his second.

Those two years with the Bantams preceded another two back in Scotland with Dundee United, where he took an interest in the coaching aspect of the game,[2] before he finished his playing career in 2002 with a short spell at Scunthorpe United.[4]

International

Wright won two international caps while playing for Aberdeen, in March and May 1993.[4][8]

Coaching career

Wright joined Dunfermline Athletic as first-team coach in January 2008, moving from a youth coaching role at Rangers.[9]

He coached with Fife Elite Football Academy (developing players for the Fife region's four professional clubs: Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, East Fife and Raith Rovers) for nearly a decade[10] before returning to Rangers in May 2017.[2][11]

Wright became the Head of Academy at Dundee F.C. in February 2019.[12]

References
  1. "Stephen Wright". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  2. Jack, Christopher (2 July 2017). "Return to Rangers gives Stephen Wright another chance to live the dream at Ibrox". Evening Times. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. "Flashback: 1991, Mark Walters and Scott Booth recall their part in Smith's maiden final-day triumph". The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. Graham, Sean (7 October 2011). "Scottish football matters: An Interview with former Aberdeen full back Stephen Wright". Scotzine. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  5. McKinney, David (26 October 1992). "Football: Smith's slip gives Rangers the prize". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. "Football: Hateley cleans up for Rangers". The Independent. 29 May 1993. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. Haggerty, Tony (6 May 2015). "In pictures: The agony and ecstasy of Scottish football play-off drama". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  8. "Dark Blue Dons: Stephen Wright". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  9. "McIntyre brings Wright on board". The Scotsman. 8 January 2008.
  10. McInnes, Andrew (21 December 2014). "Stephen Wright aims to follow Sir Alex Ferguson and create the next generation of top players in Scotland". Daily Record. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  11. "Rangers Academy Coaching Changes". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 24 May 2017.
  12. "Wright appointed Head of Academy". dundeefc.co.uk. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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