Alexander 'Alex' Cleland (born 10 December 1970 in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

) is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 former professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.

Playing career

Cleland started his career with Dundee United

Dundee United F.C.

Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...

, for whom he made 159 appearances, lifting the Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

 in 1994. He signed for Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 in a joint deal with Gary Bollan

Gary Bollan

Gary Bollan is a retired Scottish professional footballer, and now the current manager of Livingston in the Scottish Football League. He played for seven senior Scottish clubs in his career, and is a former Under-21 internationalist.-Career:Bollan came up through the youth system and into the...

 in 1995 and established himself in the right-back slot at Ibrox

Ibrox Stadium

Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...

. After over 100 appearances for the Glasgow club, he joined Premier League side Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 along with manager Walter Smith

Walter Smith

Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at...

 in 1998; however, his time in England was blighted with constant injury problems, and he only made 44 appearances before retiring in 2002.

Coaching career

Cleland was the youth coach of Livingston

Livingston F.C.

Livingston Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Livingston, West Lothian. The club currently plays in the Scottish Football League First Division.The club was founded in 1943 as Ferranti Thistle, a works team...

 until May 2007. He also took on a caretaker-manager role on three occasions, the most recent being after the resignation of Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert

Paul Christopher Lambert is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the manager of Norwich City. He won numerous trophies as a player, winning the Scottish Cup with St...

 on 11 February 2006. He was also assistant to Steve Morrison (footballer)

Steve Morrison (footballer)

Steve Morrison is a former Scottish footballer manager of East Stirlingshire who play association football in the Scottish Football League Third Division. He was assisted by former Rangers and Everton defender Alex Cleland....

 at East Stirlingshire

East Stirlingshire F.C.

East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish football club originating in Falkirk. Founded in 1880, originally as Bainsford Britannia, the club changed to their current name a year later in 1881...

.

Cleland was appointed as a youth coach at Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...

 in January 2008.
Following their releagation, Cleland was released as a coach by Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...

 to cut costs but shortly afterwards took up a similar position at St. Johnstone. Cleland was made caretaker manager of St. Johnstone in October 2011, when Derek McInnes

Derek McInnes

Derek John McInnes is a former Scottish football player and current manager of Bristol City. McInnes featured prominently for Greenock Morton, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion and Dundee United during his playing career. He won two caps for the Scotland national football team while with West...

 and Tony Docherty

Tony Docherty

Tony Docherty is a Scottish former footballer who is currently assistant manager at Bristol City.-Career:Docherty's short career began in 1987 with Dunfermline Athletic before moving to English side Cambridge United...

 moved to Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

.

Before being appointed as a youth coach at Livingston F.C. Cleland had a brief time at Rangers F.C.' Murray park coaching youths in a programme set up by Rangers to help scout young talents.

Rangers

• Scottish Premier Division
  Scottish Premier League
  The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
  
  : 2

1995–96, 1996–97

• Scottish Cup
  Scottish Cup
  The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
  
  : 1

1995–96

• Scottish League Cup
  Scottish League Cup
  The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
  
  : 1

1996–97

External links