Darren McGregor

Darren McGregor
McGregor (#14) playing for St Mirren against Peterhead in January 2011.[1]
Personal information
Full name Darren McGregor
Date of birth (1985-08-07) 7 August 1985
Place of birth Leith, Scotland
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Hibernian
Number 24
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Cowdenbeath 31 (1)
2006–2008 Arniston Rangers
2008–2010 Cowdenbeath 51 (6)
2010–2014 St Mirren 83 (4)
2014–2015 Rangers 36 (4)
2015– Hibernian 87 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:08, 7 October 2018 (UTC)

Darren McGregor (born 7 August 1985) is a Scottish footballer, who plays for Hibernian.

McGregor has had two spells with Cowdenbeath during his career. In his first spell he made his professional debut before being released and then plying his trade in junior football with Arniston Rangers in Midlothian. McGregor returned to Cowdenbeath in 2008.

He then played with St Mirren for four years, during when he suffered two serious knee injuries. After one season with Rangers, McGregor signed for Hibernian in 2015. He helped them win the Scottish Cup in 2016 and promotion in 2016–17.

Career

Cowdenbeath

His senior career started with Cowdenbeath, where he played a role in the side that won the 2005–06 Scottish Third Division championship.[2] McGregor was released at the end of that season and spent two years in junior football, before returning to Cowdenbeath at the start of the 2008–09 season.[2] He played an important role over the next two seasons as the team were promoted to the Scottish First Division.

St Mirren

On 15 June 2010, McGregor followed ex-Cowdenbeath manager Danny Lennon to St Mirren, joining the side on a two-year contract.[3] He made his SPL debut on 14 August 2010 in a 1–1 draw with Dundee United[4] and scored his first goal for the club in a Scottish League Cup game against Ross County on 25 August 2010.[5]

He scored his first league goal for the club in a 1–1 draw at St Mirren Park against Dundee United on 26 January 2011, netting a header from a well placed corner kick by Steven Thomson. He then scored his second league goal for the club in a 3–3 draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 12 February 2011, with a header from a Jure Travner corner. During a match against Dundee United in the SPL on 6 August 2011, McGregor suffered cruciate ligament damage that prevented him from playing for most of the 2011–12 season.[6]

On 24 February 2012 it was announced that McGregor had signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the summer of 2014.[7] McGregor returned to the St Mirren first team, but then suffered another cruciate ligament injury in a match against Hibernian on 18 August 2012.[6] The injury sidelined McGregor for the rest of the 2012–13 Scottish Premier League season, and meant that he had only played 12 competitive matches for the club in a two-season period.

During pre-season of season 2013–14, McGregor returned to action after recovering from his second cruciate ligament injury, and admitted that he feared he may never play football again.[8] McGregor had an injury free season and registered 35 league appearances for the club.

Rangers

McGregor signed a one-year deal on 11 June 2014 with Rangers with an option for a second year. He made his debut for Rangers when he came on as a 92nd-minute substitute for Richard Foster in the opening game of the Scottish Championship season against Hearts. He scored his first goal for Rangers in a 4–1 win over Dumbarton in August 2014. In May 2015, McGregor won the Rangers' Player of the Year and Manager's Player of the Year. On 24 August 2015, it was announced that McGregor and Rangers had terminated his contract by mutual consent.[9]

Hibernian

Soon after his release by Rangers, McGregor joined Hibernian[10] on a two-year deal.[11] McGregor was part of the Hibs team that won the 2015–16 Scottish Cup, winning 3–2 against his former club Rangers in the final.[12]

On 15 April 2017, McGregor scored twice as Hibs beat Queen of the South 3–0 to clinch the 2016–17 Scottish Championship title and a return to the Scottish Premiership after an absence of three years.[13][14] He signed a two-year contract with Hibs in May 2017.[15] McGregor underwent knee surgery in September 2017, which head coach Neil Lennon said would prevent him from playing for at least four weeks.[16]

Career statistics

As of 05:08, 7 October 2018 (UTC)[17]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cowdenbeath 2004–05 Scottish Third Division 171—10—181
2005–06 Scottish Third Division 140101010170
2008–09 Scottish Third Division 341102140412
2009–10 Scottish Second Division 175——40215
Cowdenbeath total 827204190978
St Mirren 2010–11 Scottish Premier League 3635011—424
2011–12 Scottish Premier League 90———90
2012–13 Scottish Premier League 31———31
2013–14 Scottish Premiership 35030——380
St Mirren total 8348011—925
Rangers 2014–15 Scottish Championship 364305091535
Hibernian 2015–16 Scottish Championship 280715042443
2016–17[note 1] Scottish Championship 352401030432
2017–18 Scottish Premiership 2401040—290
2018–19[note 2] Scottish Premiership ———3030
Hibernian total 8721211001021195
Career total 2881725120228336123

Honours

Player

Cowdenbeath
Hibernian

Notes

  1. ↑ Soccerbase did not record two appearances made by McGregor against Brondby IF on 14 July and 21 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Soccerbase did not record appearances made by McGregor against Asteras Tripolis on 26 July and 2 August 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "St Mirren 0 – 0 Peterhead". BBC Sport. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Darren McGregor encourages juniors to be ambitious". BBC Sport. 13 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Cowdenbeath defender Darren McGregor joins St Mirren". BBC Sport. 15 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "St Mirren 1–1 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 14 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Ross C 3–3 St Mirren (4–3 pen)". BBC Sport. 25 August 2010.
  6. 1 2 "St Mirren: Danny Lennon fears Darren McGregor may face lay-off". BBC Sport. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Darren McGregor agrees St Mirren contract extension". STV Sport. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  8. ↑ Haggerty, Anthony (23 July 2013). "St Mirren's Darren McGregor says determination to avoid going back to old job in clothes shop helped him beat injury hell". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Defender Darren McGregor exits 'by mutual consent'". BBC Sport. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Hibernian sign up defender Darren McGregor after Rangers exit". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "McGregor Joins Hibernian". hibernianfc.co.uk. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2–3 Hibernian – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Darren McGregor fires Hibs back to the Scottish Premiership". BT Sport. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  14. 1 2 McLauchlin, Brian (15 April 2017). "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "Five Renew Contracts For Next Season". Hibernian FC. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  16. ↑ McLauchlin, Brian (15 September 2017). "Hibernian defenders Liam Fontaine and Darren McGregor face spell on the sidelines". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  17. ↑ Darren McGregor at Soccerbase
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