Steven Pressley
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| Steven Pressley | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven John Pressley | |
| Date of birth | October 11, 1973 | |
| Place of birth | Elgin, Scotland | |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |
| Playing position | Central Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Celtic | |
| Number | 17 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1990–1994 1994–1995 1995–1998 1998–2006 2006– |
Rangers Coventry City Dundee United Hearts Celtic |
34 (1) 19 (1) 100 (6) 271 (19) 19 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2000-2006 | Scotland | 32 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Steven John Pressley (born October 11, 1973 in Elgin, Moray) is a Scottish international footballer, currently playing for Scottish Premier League club Celtic. He is often known by his nickname, "Elvis". On 4th of February, he was announced as Scotland Assistant Manager, but continued to play with Celtic.
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[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career
Pressley started his career at Rangers as a youngster. During his time at Ibrox, he won a Scottish Cup winner's medal in 1993, appearing as a substitute as Rangers defeated Aberdeen in the final. This would end up being the last cup he would win until 2006 when he won the Scottish Cup with Hearts. Despite being hailed in the media as "the new Richard Gough"[citation needed], he struggled to establish himself as a regular and was transferred to English side Coventry City in 1994 for £630,000. He only lasted a year in England, where he had problems with his form and disciplinary record, before returning to Scotland with Dundee United for a fee of £750,000. He helped United to promotion back to the Scottish Premier League in his first season, followed by a third place finish in the top flight in season 1996-97.
[edit] Hearts
Pressley's influential style of play and his organisational skills were noticed by Hearts manager Jim Jefferies, and he was signed by the Edinburgh club on a Bosman free transfer in 1998. His time at the club during the pre-Romanov years saw Hearts usually being known as the third-best team in Scottish football. He was an influence in the team at the back during the years when Craig Levein was in charge. He was also at the helm when the team beat VfB Stuttgart, Bordeaux and Basle in European matches. He helped Hearts finish second in the league in 2005/06, third on three occasions, as well as reaching the Scottish Cup and League Cup semi-finals. He acted as a spokesman for the playing squad in response to the various controversies affecting the club under the ownership of Vladimir Romanov. His enrollment into the Hearts Hall of Fame highlights the status which he enjoyed at Tynecastle.
Pressley led Hearts to success in the Scottish Cup Final on May 13, 2006, albeit on a penalty shoot-out after the club were held to a 1-1 draw with Gretna after extra time. Pressley scored the first penalty for Hearts, who eventually won 4-2.
On October 27, 2006, Pressley led a press conference, flanked by fellow internationals Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley, announcing that there was "significant unrest in the Hearts dressing room" following majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov's most recent comments.[1] Romanov stated that he would sell players if Hearts failed to beat Dunfermline Athletic,[1] a match which ended 1-1.[2] However, this game was played out in front of a sell-out crowd who showed their vocal backing for Pressley, Gordon and Hartley.
On November 13, 2006, Pressley was absent from the Hearts squad to face Falkirk and had been reportedly stripped of the captaincy.[3] A month later, on December 9, 2006, it was confirmed that Pressley and Hearts had parted company[4] and was reported to be attracting the interest of several clubs.
On December 27, 2006, he was spotted watching Charlton Athletic against Fulham with his agent and Charlton representatives. The comments from the Charlton manager Alan Pardew after the game seemed to confirm that he would sign for them during the January transfer window.
[edit] Celtic
Despite interest from premiership Derby County and Charlton, it was revealed on December 29, 2006 that Pressley had been signed as a free agent by Celtic until May 2008.[5]
Having previously played for Rangers, he joins players such as Maurice Johnston, Alfie Conn, Kenny Miller, Mark Brown and Barry Robson in crossing the Old Firm divide. He made his debut on January 2, 2007 against Kilmarnock F.C. and, on January 14, 2007, returned to Tynecastle as stand-in Celtic captain. On February 25, 2007, he scored his first competitive goal for Celtic against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. On May 26, 2007 he featured in the Celtic team that won the Scottish Cup, making him the first person to do so with three different clubs.[6]
With his contract expiring at the seasons end and seemingly no offer forthcoming from Celtic, Pressley is currently believed to be entertaining several Player/Coach offers. Interest is reported to have come from Aberdeen and Nottingham Forest amongst others.
[edit] International career
Pressley is also a Scotland international, having been capped 32 times since his debut in 2000 against France.[7]
His appearance against Lithuania on September 6, 2006 ensured he surpassed Bobby Walker's record as Hearts' most capped Scotland player in their 2-1 victory in Kaunas, a record which has stood for 91 years.[8] He became the first Scottish player to be sent off in Scotland's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, in their away game against Ukraine on October 11, 2006,[9] which, incidentally was also Scotland's first international defeat in the campaign.
[edit] Coaching career
Along with Terry Butcher, Pressley was named as an assistant to the new Scotland manager George Burley in February 2008.[10] Pressley was Hearts captain under Burley during his short reign at Tynecastle.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Romanov issues player ultimatum", BBC Sport website, 27 October 2006.
- ^ "Hearts 1-1 Dunfermline Athletic", BBC Sport website, 28th October 2006.
- ^ "Pressley loses captain's armband", BBC Sport website, 13th November 2006.
- ^ "Pressley and Hearts part company", BBC Sport website, 9 December 2006.
- ^ "Celtic win race to sign Pressley", BBC Sport website, 29th December 2006.
- ^ "Celtic 1-0 Dunfermline", BBC Sport website, 26 May 2007.
- ^ "France spoil Scottish party", BBC Sport website, 29th March 2000.
- ^ Pressley set to equal Scots cap record at Hearts Scotsman.com Sport, 2 September 2006. Accessed 16th October 2006
- ^ "Ukraine 2-0 Scotland", BBC Sport website, 11 October 2006.
- ^ "Butcher and Pressley join Scots", BBC Sport website, 4 February 2008.
[edit] External links
- Steven Pressley career stats at Soccerbase
- Profile at londonhearts.com
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