Lee McCulloch

Lee McCulloch
McCulloch playing for Rangers in 2010
Personal information
Full name Lee Henry McCulloch
Date of birth (1978-05-14) 14 May 1978
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Utility player
Club information
Current team
 Lechia Gdańsk
(assistant manager)
Youth career
Jerviston Boys Club[1]
1991–1993 Rangers SABC[2]
1993–1996 Motherwell
1994 → Cumbernauld United (loan)
1995 → Carluke Rovers (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2001 Motherwell 124 (21)
2001–2007 Wigan Athletic 224 (44)
2007–2015 Rangers 209 (52)
2015–2016 Kilmarnock 1 (0)
National team
2003 Scotland B 1 (0)
2004–2010 Scotland 18 (1)
Teams managed
2016 Kilmarnock (caretaker)
2017 Kilmarnock
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Lee Henry McCulloch (born 14 May 1978) is a Scottish retired footballer and coach who is currently assistant manager of Polish club Lechia Gdańsk.

McCulloch was capped on eighteen occasions by the Scotland national football team. During his career he has played for Motherwell, Wigan Athletic, Rangers and Kilmarnock at club level. He played mostly as a central defender or a defensive midfielder during his time at Rangers (he also played striker for the club when required) but has also played as an attacking midfielder and winger during his time in English football.

Towards the end of his playing career, McCulloch was appointed a coach at Kilmarnock. He was appointed interim manager in January 2016[3] and February 2017.[4] He was appointed manager on a permanent basis in June 2017, but left that September.

Playing career

Club

Motherwell

McCulloch started his career as a forward at hometown club Motherwell,[5] graduating from their youth system having previously played at Rangers SABC (a boys' team affiliated to Rangers) alongside Barry Ferguson. Upon recovering from a broken ankle suffered during a loan spell with Carluke Rovers,[1] McCulloch had an early experience of European football in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup[5] under manager Alex McLeish, and went on to score 27 goals in 147 appearances for the Steelmen after making his debut against Raith Rovers on 24 August 1996.[6] He scored his first and second goals in a league match against Hibernian on 31 January 1998.[7]

After netting 12 and nine goals in consecutive seasons for Motherwell, along with some impressive performances, other clubs began to take notice of the young striker.

Wigan Athletic

McCulloch signed for Wigan Athletic in March 2001 for £700,000,[8] (a then club signing record) on the same day as Motherwell teammate Steve McMillan.[8] Wigan at this point were plying their trade in the third tier of English football, but were strongly ambitious, and saw the young Scotsmen as part of their long term plans. McCulloch made his debut against Swindon Town on 3 March 2001[9] and scored his first goal for the club four weeks later, in a 2–1 win away to Wycombe Wanderers.[10]

During his English league career, McCulloch found himself increasingly operating in a left midfield role, and this is the position he mainly played in during Wigan's first season in the Premier League in 2005–06. He weighed in with five league goals in thirty appearances, helping Wigan to a 10th-place finish, and appeared as a substitute in the 2006 League Cup Final.[11]

In January 2007, McCulloch was the subject of a £750,000 bid by Rangers. It was turned down by Wigan and labelled "derisory" by manager Paul Jewell.[12] In May 2007, McCulloch told BBC Sport that he would relish the opportunity to play for Rangers, and the new manager at Wigan Athletic Chris Hutchings advised him that he may leave to move back to Scotland.[13] On 23 June, Rangers had a bid of £1.5m rejected with Wigan said to want £2.5m for McCulloch, who had scored 46 goals in 241 matches for them.

Rangers

On 11 July 2007, Rangers signed McCulloch on a four-year deal with a transfer fee of £2.25m.[14] McCulloch started his Rangers career with a goal on his debut in a 2–0 victory over FK Zeta on 31 July 2007.[15] On 2 October 2007 in the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League, he scored the first goal, a header from a corner by DaMarcus Beasley in Rangers' 3–0 victory at the Stade de Gerland against Olympique Lyonnais.[16]

On 23 December in a match with Aberdeen, McCulloch was sent off after 37 minutes after jumping at Aberdeen's Scott Severin as a mass brawl started, after Aberdeen's Chris Clark had scythed down Rangers defender Alan Hutton. McCulloch was the only player to be dismissed in the heated match. Later that season McCulloch played in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, the 2008 Scottish League Cup Final and the 2008 Scottish Cup Final. Rangers lost the UEFA Cup Final[17] but won a domestic cup double.

In his second season at Ibrox, McCulloch was again plagued with injuries. However, he did also manage to play for the club at central defence and as a defensive midfielder. In the first game of the 2009–10 season McCulloch scored a long range goal against Falkirk in a 4–1 win. The following match he scored his second goal of the season against Hearts: a header from a free kick that equalised for Rangers before Kris Boyd scored the winner in the 89th minute. On 3 January 2010 in the second Old Firm game of the season, McCulloch scored a header from a corner to tie the game 1–1. This was McCulloch's first ever Old Firm goal. McCulloch became a regular in central midfield as of 2009–10 season.

On 12 August 2010, Rangers announced that McCulloch had signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2013.[18] His first game of the 2010–11 season came against St. Johnstone in which he set up the winner. McCulloch then went on to feature 27 times until it was revealed, after limping off against Hearts, he would require surgery to cure a cyst on his knee joint.[19] McCulloch’s versatility saw him play in attack, midfield and defence, and he hit a particularly good vein of form as a powerful striker as Rangers threadbare squad put together a decent run of results following the club’s entry into administration. His commitment to the cause was never under question, and he made it clear from the outset that no matter what happened to the club, he would be staying at Ibrox. The business and assets of Rangers, including player registrations, were purchased by a brand new company led by Charles Green.[20] While many players opted out of joining the new company, McCulloch was one of the few senior players who accepted the transfer.[20] Rangers entered the Scottish Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system. He scored in extra time to give Rangers a 2–1 victory against Brechin City in the Scottish Challenge Cup on 29 July 2012. McCulloch was given the captaincy on 1 September 2012 after the departure of Carlos Bocanegra to Racing Santander on a season-long loan[21] and on 31 October, he signed a contract extension with Rangers committing him until 2015.[22]

On 12 March 2014, McCulloch scored a hat trick against Airdrieonians in a 3–0 win that clinched the League One championship.[23] McCulloch was inducted into the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame in March 2014, along with former Rangers players Nacho Novo and Fernando Ricksen.[24] His first goal this season was in the Scottish Challenge Cup against Clyde that they won 8–1 and during this game he scored twice. His first league goal was in a 4–1 victory over Dumbarton His first booking was in the Scottish Challenge Cup against Alloa Athletic that they lost 3–2. In December 2014, McCulloch was appointed player/coach for the Rangers first team after manager Ally McCoist was placed on gardening leave.[25] In a 2-2 draw against Falkirk near the end of the season, McCulloch was jeered by some of the Rangers support after he had made an error leading to a goal for Falkirk.[26] In July 2015, McCulloch left Rangers at the end of his contract. McCulloch said after leaving Rangers that the 2014–15 season had been his worst in football, with the team failing to gain promotion and off-field issues affecting performances.[27] He also said that he had wanted to comment publicly on the club's problems, but was ordered not to by the club hierarchy.[27]

Kilmarnock

McCulloch signed for Kilmarnock as a player/coach in July 2015.[28] He said after joining Kilmarnock that although he had registered as a player, he did not expect to play many games for the club and that his main responsibility would be to develop younger players.[27] He made one appearance in total that season, starting in a league match against Ross County, being replaced after forty-one minutes.[29]

International

McCulloch earned his first international call-up to the Scotland national side in 2004, under the then manager Berti Vogts, and made his debut as a late substitute in a 1–1 draw with Moldova,[30] a match which transpired to be Vogts' last match as manager. After the appointment of Walter Smith in 2004, he featured in the squad intermittently. He was involved in Smith's first three matches as manager against Italy, Moldova and Belarus and was included in the Kirin Cup matches against Bulgaria and Japan. He played in Scotland's famous 1–0 win over France in October 2006[31] and then in the equally famous reverse fixture, which Scotland also won 1–0.[32]

He scored his first international goal in Scotland's Euro 2008 qualifying win over Ukraine.[33] It was the second goal in a 3–1 victory at Hampden Park in October 2007. McCulloch retired from international football on 8 September 2008 as he wanted to concentrate on his club commitments.[34] McCulloch was recalled to the national team following the appointment of Craig Levein and he made his first appearance since 2008 in a qualifier against Lithuania in September 2010.[35]

Coaching career

McCulloch was appointed Kilmarnock manager on an interim basis after Gary Locke resigned on 30 January 2016,[3] managing two matches; a goalless draw with his former side Rangers in the Scottish Cup,[36] and a 2–0 win over Motherwell in the league.[37] He returned to his coaching duties after Lee Clark was appointed on a permanent basis in February 2016.[38] McCulloch was not registered in the Kilmarnock squad for the 2016–17 season, taking up the role of assistant manager to Lee Clark and ending his time as a player.[39]

McCulloch and Peter Leven were put in temporary charge of the first team in February 2017, when Clark left Kilmarnock to manage Bury.[4] He continued in interim charge until the end of the 2016–17 season, as Kilmarnock finished 8th in the Premiership. McCulloch was appointed Kilmarnock manager on a permanent basis on 5 June 2017.[40] After the team failed to win any of their first eight league matches in 2017–18, McCulloch left Kilmarnock on 1 October 2017.[41]

McCulloch was appointed assistant manager of Polish club Lechia Gdańsk in January 2018.[42] He became assistant to Adam Owen, who had been a fitness coach at Rangers while McCulloch played for them.[42]

Career statistics

Player

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Other[43] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Motherwell 1995–96 Scottish Premier Division2000001030
1996–97 Scottish Premier Division150300000180
1997–98 Scottish Premier Division242402000302
1998–99 Scottish Premier League273312000324
1999–2000 Scottish Premier League3094211003512
2000–01 Scottish Premier League267112100299
Total 12421154721014727
Wigan Athletic 2000–01 English Second Division103000010113
2001–02 English Second Division346100010366
2002–03 English Second Division386102000416
2003–04 English First Division416103100457
2004–05 English Championship42140010004314
2005–06 English Premier League305104000355
2006–07 English Premier League294110000305
Total 22444511012024146
Rangers 2007–08 Scottish Premier League2236230152467
2008–09 Scottish Premier League120402020200
2009–10 Scottish Premier League345403161477
2010–11 Scottish Premier League210103150301
2011–12 Scottish Premier League265001030305
2012–13 Scottish Third Division28173245323826
2013–14 Scottish League One34176010514618
2014–15 Scottish Championship324305062466
Total 2095227422745830370
Kilmarnock 2015–16 Scottish Premiership1000000010
Total 1000000010
Career total 5581144793910486692143

International

Scotland national team
YearAppsGoals
200410
200540
200630
200771
2008—
2009—
201030
Total181
International goals
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.13 October 2007Hampden Park, Glasgow Ukraine2–03–1UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Manager

As of match played 30 September 2017
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Kilmarnock (interim) Scotland 31 January 2016 15 February 2016 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 033.33
Kilmarnock Scotland 15 February 2017 1 October 2017 27 7 7 13 29 38 −9 025.93
Total 30 8 8 14 32 40 −8 026.67

Honours

Club

Wigan Athletic
Rangers

International

Scotland

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 Mculloch, Lee (2013). Simp-Lee the Best: My Autobiography. Black & White Publishing. ISBN 9781845027612.
  2. ↑ "SABC continue to create stars for the future". Youth Football Scotland. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke resigns after Hamilton loss". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Lee Clark: Kilmarnock boss to quit to join Bury". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Made in Motherwell: Lee McCulloch". Motherwell F.C. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Raith 0–3 Motherwell" Soccerbase, 26 April 2008
  7. ↑ "Motherwell 6–2 Hibernian" Soccerbase. 26 April 2008.
  8. 1 2 "Well duo sign for Wigan". BBC Sport. 2 March 2001.
  9. ↑ "Wigan 0–0 Swindon". BBC Sport. 3 March 2001.
  10. ↑ "Wycombe 1–2 Wigan". BBC Sport. 31 March 2001.
  11. 1 2 "Carling Cup final clockwatch". BBC. 26 February 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  12. ↑ "Wigan snub McCulloch transfer bid". BBC Sport. 17 January 2007.
  13. ↑ "McCulloch would Relish Rangers move". BBC Sport. 23 May 2007.
  14. ↑ "Rangers seal McCulloch transfer". BBC Sport. 11 July 2007.
  15. ↑ "Rangers 2–0 FK Zeta". BBC Sport. 31 July 2007.
  16. ↑ "Lyon 0–3 Rangers" BBC Sport. 2 October 2007.
  17. 1 2 "Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 Rangers". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "Lee McCulloch signs Rangers contract extension". BBC Sport. 12 August 2010.
  19. ↑ "Lee McCulloch ruled out for remainder of the season". Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  20. 1 2 Halliday, Stephen (27 June 2012). "Rangers newco: Lee Wallace stays but four more head for Ibrox exit". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Lee McCulloch is the ideal choice for skipper". Evening Times.
  22. ↑ "Rangers: Lee McCulloch signs contract extension until 2015". 31 October 2012.
  23. ↑ "Rangers 3–0 Airdrieonians". BBC. 12 March 2014.
  24. ↑ "Fame Awards For Trio". Andrew Dickson. Rangers.co.uk. 30 March 2014.
  25. ↑ "Coaching Staff Confirmed". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 23 December 2014. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Rangers manager Stuart McCall 'sickened' by Lee McCulloch boos". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  27. 1 2 3 "Kilmarnock: Lee McCulloch leaves 'worst year' at Rangers behind". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  28. ↑ Crawford, Kenny (11 July 2015). "Kilmarnock: Lee McCulloch agrees player-coach role". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  29. ↑ Barnes, John (22 August 2015). "Kilmarnock 0-4 Ross County". BBC Sport. BBC.
  30. ↑ "Moldova 1–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. 13 October 2004.
  31. ↑ "Scotland 1–0 France". BBC Sport. 7 October 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  32. ↑ "France 0–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  33. ↑ "Scotland 3–1 Ukraine". BBC Sport. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  34. ↑ "Scotland 3–1 Ukraine". BBC Sport. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  35. ↑ "Lithuania v Scotland Match facts". The Guardian. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  36. ↑ "Rangers 0–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  37. ↑ "Motherwell 0–2 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  38. ↑ "Lee Clark: Kilmarnock appoint former Blackpool manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  39. ↑ http://www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk/Teams?sTeam=398
  40. ↑ "Kilmarnock: Lee McCulloch's first task as manager is to recruit new players". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  41. ↑ "Kilmarnock manager Lee McCulloch leaves club by mutual consent". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  42. 1 2 "Lee McCulloch: Former Kilmarnock manager named Lechia Gdansk assistant". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  43. ↑ Includes Europe and Football League play-offs
  44. ↑ Campbell, Andy (24 May 2009). "Dundee United 0-3 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC.
  45. ↑ Campbell, Andy (25 April 2010). "Hibernian 0–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC.
  46. ↑ "The perfect ending for five-star Smith". The Belfast Telegraph. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  47. ↑ Wilson, Richard (12 March 2014). "Rangers 3-0 Airdrieonians". BBC Sport. BBC.
  48. ↑ "Rangers celebrate Scottish Third Division title win". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 March 2013.
  49. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (24 May 2008). "Queen of the South 2-3 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC.
  50. ↑ Moffat, Colin (30 May 2009). "Rangers 1–0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. BBC.
  51. ↑ McGuigan, Thomas (16 March 2008). "Dundee Utd 2-2 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC.
  52. ↑ Campbell, Andy (21 March 2010). "St Mirren 0-1 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC.
  53. ↑ "Celtic 1 Rangers 2". Daily Telegraph. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  54. ↑ "Japan 0-0 Scotland". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 May 2006.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Carlos Bocanegra		 Rangers captain
2012-2015		 Succeeded by
Lee Wallace
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