John Grant Robertson

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For other persons named John Robertson, see John Robertson (disambiguation).

John Robertson
Personal information
Full name	John Grant Robertson
Date of birth	October 2, 1964 (age 42)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	5' 7"
Nickname	Robbo
Position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Livingston F.C.
Youth clubs
	Salvesen Boys Club Edina Hibs
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1981-1988 1988 1988-1998 1998 1998-2000	Heart of Midlothian Newcastle United Heart of Midlothian →Dundee (loan) Livingston	202 (106) 012 (0) 310 (108) 004 (1) 041 (14)
National team**
1990-1995	Scotland	016 (3)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 2006.

John Robertson (born October 2, 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland), is a former professional football player, and current manager of Scottish Football League club Livingston.

[edit] Playing career

Whilst at school in Edinburgh (Portobello High School) Robertson was a Hibs supporter while his father supporter Hearts. Hibs attempted to sign him but he asked for time to think the deal over and, after Hibs refused, he signed for Hearts, along with school friend and fellow future internationalist Dave Bowman. Robertson would eventually earn the moniker "The Hammer of Hibs" as he scored for Hearts in almost every game he played against their city rivals and holds the record of scoring the most goals by any single player against Hibs.

Robertson was an instant success at Hearts, becoming a legend in the first few seasons with his prolific goal scoring record. In 1986 Robertson took Hearts to the brink of a league and cup double by scoring goal after goal as the club went on an unbeaten run through that season. Robertson was to taste the cruelness of football at the end of that season as the league title was snatched from Hearts by Celtic on the last day of the season. He left Hearts briefly to play for Newcastle United in April 1988. Robertson failed to match the success he had enjoyed at Tynecastle and returned to Hearts the following season.

The man affectionately known as "Robbo" achieved his greatest success at Hearts and undoubtedly loved the club, where he spent the vast majority of his playing career. Robertson’s loyalty to Hearts was finally rewarded in 1998 when Hearts won the Scottish Cup and he finally received a winner’s medal. After an earlier loan spell with Dundee, he left Tynecastle that summer, joining Livingston as a player-coach.

Robertson was also a Scottish international, playing on 16 occasions for Scotland. He made his debut against Romania in 1990, scoring in a 2-1 win. He scored three goals in total in his international career.

[edit] Managerial career

Whilst at Livingston, Robertson became involved in the coaching side of the game, while still playing for the club. He left the club in season 2002-03 to become manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle where he guided the Highland team to the SPL for the first time in their history. In November 2004 he returned to Hearts as head coach and despite two cup semi-finals and a good season in Europe as well as finishing 5th in the league, he was sacked on 9 May 2005. He was appointed manager of Scottish First Division team Ross County on 21 June 2005 but left by mutual consent after four months, after being asked to cut his budget by £100,000.

After an unsuccessful application to re-join Inverness, he was appointed manager of Livingston on 15 February 2006, after the resignation of Paul Lambert.

[edit] External links

• John Robertson management career stats at Soccerbase
• John Robertson career stats at Soccerbase
• Hearts playing career stats at londonhearts.com

Preceded by: Paul McStay	Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 1983	Succeeded by: Craig Levein
Preceded by: Steve Paterson	Inverness Caledonian Thistle Manager 2002-2004	Succeeded by: Craig Brewster
Preceded by: Craig Levein	Hearts Manager 2004-2005	Succeeded by: George Burley
Preceded by: Alex Smith	Ross County Manager 2005	Succeeded by: Gardner Spiers
Preceded by: Paul Lambert	Livingston Manager 2006-	Succeeded by: Incumbent