Gus MacPherson
Encyclopedia
Angus Ian MacPherson is a Scottish
former football
player and manager
. MacPherson played for Kilmarnock
for over a decade, making over 350 league appearances. After retiring as a player in 2003, he became manager of St. Mirren
, a position he held until May 2010. MacPherson took St. Mirren from the First Division to the SPL and the 2010 Scottish League Cup Final
. On 10 June 2011 he was officially announced as being the new manager of Queen of the South
on a one year contract.
, but was unable to break in to the first team, spending a period on loan to English side Exeter City
.
, where he would enjoy the most successful period of his career becoming a regular fixture in the Rugby Park first team. He went on to play over 350 games at Kilmarnock and also was in the side that won the Scottish Cup
with a 1-0 win over Falkirk
at Ibrox Stadium
.
for two seasons before moving to St Mirren as player/assistant manager in 2003.
. He retired from playing to concentrate solely on management at the end of the 2003/04 season
.
MacPherson guided St. Mirren to 2nd in 2004–05
finishing behind Falkirk
. This was a significant improvement for the club having finished seventh the previous season. In the following season
MacPherson guided St Mirren back to the Scottish Premier League
having finished top of the First Division. He also guided the team to a 2–1 win in the Scottish League Challenge Cup
final against Hamilton Academical with Simon Lappin
and John Sutton
netting the goals, becoming the only St. Mirren manager to win a domestic double.
In the 2006–07 season
he retained St Mirren's place in the SPL, following a brief relegation fight. In the second last game of the season St. Mirren's place in the SPL was confirmed courtesy of a 3-2 win over Motherwell
despite having been 2-0 down. This coupled with other results saw one of MacPherson's former clubs, Dunfermline relegated to the First Division.
In the following season
MacPherson became the first St Mirren manager to be knocked out of both the Scottish League Cup
and Scottish Cup
by teams from a lower league in the same season. Despite these set-backs he retained St. Mirren's SPL status with 10th place in the division. This was St. Mirren's highest finish since the 1990/91 season
, finishing one place above MacPherson's former club Kilmarnock and relegated Gretna
.
In the 2008–09 season
he led St Mirren to a win over Rangers
at Love Street with Stephen McGinn
netting the only goal of the game. Also in the same season he led St Mirren on a run of four unbeaten games, resulting in him receiving the SPL manager of the month award
for December 2008. He also guided them to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup
, beating Celtic
1-0 in the quarter finals. This result came just a week after a 7-0 defeat at Celtic Park
. St. Mirren were in a five club relegation battle, but a penultimate weekend win away to Falkirk, almost guaranteed safety. St Mirren stayed in the top flight on goal difference, two goals better off than Inverness.
In January 2010, after Jim Jeffries left Kilmarnock, MacPherson became the longest serving manager in the SPL. On 11 May 2010, St. Mirren announced that they had parted company with MacPherson.
club, Queen of the South
on a one year contract. His assistant manager was announced as Andy Millen
.
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 football
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...
player and manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
. MacPherson played for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
for over a decade, making over 350 league appearances. After retiring as a player in 2003, he became manager of St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
, a position he held until May 2010. MacPherson took St. Mirren from the First Division to the SPL and the 2010 Scottish League Cup Final
2010 Scottish League Cup Final
The 2010 Scottish League Cup Final was the final match of the 2009–10 Scottish League Cup, the 63rd season of the Scottish League Cup.-St. Mirren:...
. On 10 June 2011 he was officially announced as being the new manager of Queen of the South
Queen of the South
For other uses see Queen of the South Queen of the South is an alternative title for the Queen of Sheba. The phrase Queen of the South is used in the New Testament and is attributed to Jesus Christ....
on a one year contract.
Rangers and loan to Exeter City
MacPherson started his career as a youth player with RangersRangers 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...
, but was unable to break in to the first team, spending a period on loan to English side Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
.
Kilmarnock
In 1991 he moved to KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
, where he would enjoy the most successful period of his career becoming a regular fixture in the Rugby Park first team. He went on to play over 350 games at Kilmarnock and also was in the side that won 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...
with a 1-0 win over Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
at Ibrox Stadium
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...
.
Dunfermline Athletic
MacPherson left Kilmarnock in 2001 to join Dunfermline AthleticDunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
for two seasons before moving to St Mirren as player/assistant manager in 2003.
St Mirren
MacPherson was then appointed as player/manager on 18 December 2003 after the resignation of John CoughlinJohn Coughlin (footballer)
John Coughlin is a football manager and former football player, currently the head coach of East Stirlingshire. He was most recently manager of Stenhousemuir until resigning in December 2010. He was formerly a player with Meadowbank Thistle and Berwick Rangers until injury forced him out of the game...
. He retired from playing to concentrate solely on management at the end of the 2003/04 season
2003-04 in Scottish football
The 2003–04 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League season was won by Celtic with 98 points, 17 points ahead of closest challengers Rangers. Both Rangers and Celtic therefore gained the two UEFA...
.
MacPherson guided St. Mirren to 2nd in 2004–05
2004-05 in Scottish football
The 2004–05 season was the 108th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2004:*6 July 2004 - Nacho Novo from Dundee to Rangers, £450,000*1 July 2004 - Dado Prso from AS Monaco to Rangers, Bosman...
finishing behind Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...
. This was a significant improvement for the club having finished seventh the previous season. In the following season
2005-06 in Scottish football
The 2005–06 season was the 109th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2005:*1 June: Gordon Strachan officially takes charge of Celtic after the resignation of Martin O'Neill...
MacPherson guided St Mirren back to the Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
having finished top of the First Division. He also guided the team to a 2–1 win in the Scottish League Challenge Cup
Scottish League Challenge Cup
The Scottish Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Challenge Cup, is a knockout football cup competition organised by the Scottish Football League. Entry is open to the 30 member clubs of the Scottish Football League and from 2011 the two highest ranked clubs of the Highland...
final against Hamilton Academical with Simon Lappin
Simon Lappin
Simon Lappin is a Scottish professional footballer, currently playing for Premier League side Norwich City. He was capped 10 times by the Scotland national under-21 football team.-St. Mirren:...
and John Sutton
John Sutton (footballer)
John William Michael Sutton is an English footballer, currently playing for Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League...
netting the goals, becoming the only St. Mirren manager to win a domestic double.
In the 2006–07 season
2006-07 in Scottish football
The 2006–07 season was the 110th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2006:*9 July: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and...
he retained St Mirren's place in the SPL, following a brief relegation fight. In the second last game of the season St. Mirren's place in the SPL was confirmed courtesy of a 3-2 win over Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
despite having been 2-0 down. This coupled with other results saw one of MacPherson's former clubs, Dunfermline relegated to the First Division.
In the following season
2007-08 in Scottish football
The 2007-08 season was the 111th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Overview:* Gretna were competing in the Scottish Premier League for the first time, their first ever season in the top-flight, after being promoted as First Division champions the previous season.* Dunfermline Athletic...
MacPherson became the first St Mirren manager to be knocked out of both the 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...
and 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...
by teams from a lower league in the same season. Despite these set-backs he retained St. Mirren's SPL status with 10th place in the division. This was St. Mirren's highest finish since the 1990/91 season
1990-91 in Scottish football
The 1990–91 season was the 94th season of competitive football in Scotland. It was notable for the fact that there was a last day title decider at Ibrox between Rangers and Aberdeen. Both teams went into the match level on points and goal difference, but Rangers needed to win the match...
, finishing one place above MacPherson's former club Kilmarnock and relegated Gretna
Gretna F.C.
Gretna Football Club was a Scottish football club that represented the town of Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway, close to the border between England and Scotland...
.
In the 2008–09 season
2008-09 in Scottish football
The 2008–09 season was the 112th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Overview:* Hamilton Academical competed in the Scottish Premier League for the first time, their first season in the top-flight since the 1988–89 season, after being promoted as First Division champions the...
he led St Mirren to a win over 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...
at Love Street with Stephen McGinn
Stephen McGinn
Stephen McGinn is a Scottish professional association football player currently playing for English Football League Championship side Watford.-Career:...
netting the only goal of the game. Also in the same season he led St Mirren on a run of four unbeaten games, resulting in him receiving the SPL manager of the month award
Scottish Premier League monthly awards
This article lists the winners of the Manager, Player and Young Player monthly awards in the Scottish Premier League since the2000–01 season. No Young Player of the Month were awarded in the 2000–01 season. Rising Star awards were issued most months in the 2007–08 season.The awards are currently...
for December 2008. He also guided them to the semi-finals of 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...
, beating Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
1-0 in the quarter finals. This result came just a week after a 7-0 defeat at Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
. St. Mirren were in a five club relegation battle, but a penultimate weekend win away to Falkirk, almost guaranteed safety. St Mirren stayed in the top flight on goal difference, two goals better off than Inverness.
In January 2010, after Jim Jeffries left Kilmarnock, MacPherson became the longest serving manager in the SPL. On 11 May 2010, St. Mirren announced that they had parted company with MacPherson.
Queen of the South
MacPherson was announced as the new manager of DumfriesDumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
club, Queen of the South
Queen of the South
For other uses see Queen of the South Queen of the South is an alternative title for the Queen of Sheba. The phrase Queen of the South is used in the New Testament and is attributed to Jesus Christ....
on a one year contract. His assistant manager was announced as Andy Millen
Andy Millen
Andrew "Andy" Frank Millen is a Scottish ex-professional association footballer who is now assistant manager at Queen of the South.Millen played for Queen's Park after making his comeback at the age of 45...
.