John Robertson (footballer born 1964)
John Robertson (born 2 October 1964) is a former professional association football player and is currently the manager of East Fife. His playing career included spells at Newcastle United, Dundee and Livingston but he is best known for his two spells at Heart of Midlothian. He has previously managed Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Heart of Midlothian and Derry City, among others.
Playing career
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 eventually earned 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 by notching up 27 strikes against the Easter Road team.
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. 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 in December of that year.
Robertson achieved his greatest success at Hearts, 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 received a winner’s medal, albeit as an unused substitute. 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.
Managerial career
Whilst playing for Livingston, Robertson became involved in the coaching side of the game.[1] 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 in May 2005.
He was appointed manager of Scottish First Division team Ross County in June 2005, but left by mutual consent after four months.[1] Robertson was appointed manager of Livingston in February 2006,[1] then sacked in April 2007 after finishing sixth in the First Division.
He was appointed by League of Ireland side Derry City in July 2007. He took club out of the relegation battle to a safe mid table position and also won the FAI League Cup and qualified for the Setanta Cup before being dismissed by the new chairman and board of directors at Derry, and replaced by former Derry boss Stephen Kenny.[2]
In 2009, Robertson coached strikers at Scottish Premier League clubs Dundee United and Kilmarnock. In March 2010, Robertson helped coach the strikers at Hearts on a non-contract basis.
Robertson was appointed manager of East Fife in October 2010. In September 2011, his East Fife side knocked SPL club Aberdeen out of the Scottish League Cup at Pittodrie Stadium.
Career statistics
Honours
References
External links
Persondata |
Name |
Robertson, John Grant |
Alternative names |
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Short description |
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Date of birth |
2 October 1964 |
Place of birth |
Edinburgh, Scotland |
Date of death |
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Place of death |
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