Tommy McLean

Thomas McLean Jr (born 2 June 1947 in Larkhall) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee United.

Tommy McLean
Personal information
Full name Thomas McLean
Date of birth (1947-06-02) 2 June 1947
Place of birth Ashgill, Scotland
Position(s) Midfielder[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1971 Kilmarnock 216 (48)
1971–1982 Rangers 300 (35)
Total 516 (83)
National team
1968–1971 Scotland 6 (1)
1966–1973 Scottish League XI 7 (0)
Teams managed
1983–1984 Morton
1984–1994 Motherwell
1994–1995 Heart of Midlothian
1996 Raith Rovers
1996–1998 Dundee United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

McLean grew up in Ashgill, Lanarkshire, along with his elder brothers Jim and Willie, who would also become successful players and managers.

Playing career

A traditional tricky winger, McLean started his career at Kilmarnock, where at one point all three brothers were at the club together, Jim and Tommy as players and Willie as a coach. He was part of the Kilmarnock team which won the club's only league title, in 1964-65.[2]

He joined Rangers in 1971 for £65,000 and was involved in the clubs famous 1972 Cup Winners Cup triumph. He went on to play 452 times for Rangers,[3] winning three League championships, four Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups.

McLean was capped six times by Scotland, with all his appearances coming as a Kilmarnock player. He also represented the Scottish League XI seven times.[4]

In October 2016 he was inducted into the Kilmarnock 'Hall of Fame' alongside other well-known former players such as James Fowler, Ray Montgomerie and Stuart McLean (no relation).[5]

Managerial career

After his playing career he became Rangers' assistant manager. Thereafter he had spells in management with Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee United, before becoming Under-19 coach at Rangers.

McLean managed Motherwell for ten years, during which the club won the Scottish Cup in 1991. Motherwell defeated Dundee United, who were managed by his brother Jim, in the cup final[6] to enter Europe for the first time in their history.[7][8] They also challenged for the 1993–94 Scottish Premier Division title, eventually finishing third.[9][10][11]

His spell at Raith Rovers in 1996 was remarkable for lasting only six days and encompassing only one game; the lure of working under Jim, by then chairman of Dundee United, saw him quit Stark's Park for Tannadice amidst substantial acrimony.

McLean returned to Rangers in May 2001 as director of youth development,[12] after he had held a similar post at Dundee United since October 2000.[13]

Tommy is married to wife Beth. Their daughter Lorna was born in 1991.

Honours

Player
Kilmarnock
Rangers

Manager
Motherwell

Individual

References
  1. "Tommy McLean". www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  2. "Kilmarnock player Tommy McLean". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  3. "Rangers player Tommy McLean". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. "Scotland FL Players by Appearances". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  5. "Hall Of Fame 2 Dinner". Kilmarnock FC website. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  6. "Great Scottish Cup moments". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  7. Patrick Glenn (20 May 1991). "Well take the Cup to leave United high and dry again". Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  8. Will Sharp (21 December 2016). "Motherwell's Class of '91: a rare moment in the sun". These Football Times. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  9. Oude kaas: Sieb Dijkstra, AZ Alkmaar (in Dutch)
  10. "The career of John Philliben". Motherwell F.C. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  11. "I achieved my dream playing with Motherwell". MFC1886. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  12. "McLean makes Rangers return". BBC Sport website. 11 May 2001.
  13. "Tommy's return meets with criticism". BBC Sport website. 13 October 2000.
  14. "Wallace, Greig make history". The Herald. 8 May 1978. Retrieved 24 October 2017 – via Google News.
  15. "Six former players added to Scotltish football's hall of fame". BBC Sport. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
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