David McCracken

Dundee United

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, McCracken began his football career at Dundee United, where he revealed that it was a two-year apprenticeship. McCracken progressed through the youth ranks at the Tangerines, where he eventually signed his first professional contract with the club. McCracken made his competitive senior debut in a Scottish Premier League (SPL) match against Celtic on 2 May 2000, as Dundee United loss 1–0. In a follow–up match against Motherwell, however, he received a straight red card in the 28th minute for a professional foul on John Spencer, as the Tangerines loss 2–1. After the match, manager Paul Sturrock believed that McCracken was unlucky to be sent–off. At the end of the 1999–00 season, he made two appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2000–01 season, McCracken was promoted to Dundee United’s first team squad. In the opening game of the season, he scored his first goal for the Tangerines, in a 2–1 defeat to Celtic at Tannadice. However, in a match against Rangers on 1 October 2000, McCracken suffered an injury and was substituted in the 16th minute, as Dundee United loss 3–0. On 17 December 2000, he made his return from injury, starting a 1–1 draw against Rangers. Following this, McCracken spent the rest of the 2000–01 season, playing for the club’s reserve. At the end of the 2000–01 season, he made nine appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Ahead of the 2001–02 season, McCracken suffered a groin injury during the…

In October 2001, McCracken was called up to the Scotland U21 squad for the first time. He made his debut for the under-21 side, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win over Latvia on 5 October 2001. Two years later, McCracken was called up to the Scotland U21 squad and was featured as an unused substitute twice. He finally made his first appearance for the under-21 side, in a 3–1 loss against Norway U21 on 19 August 2003. McCracken played in both legs of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs against Croatia U21, as Scotland U21 loss 2–1 on aggregate. He went on to make five appearances for the under-21 side.

During his time with Peterhead, McCracken took on coaching responsibilities. McCracken left Peterhead in November 2019 to take a coaching position at Falkirk, working with Lee Miller. Their first match as Bairns manager came on 30 November 2019, in a 3–1 win against Stranraer. After a few games in interim charge of the team, McCracken and Miller were given control until the end of the 2019–20 season. They embarked a three match winning streak throughout January that saw them earn January’s Manager of the Month. However, the season was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Falkirk finishing fourth place. By then, McCracken and Miller were able to invigorated the place and the team, only losing twice for the Bairns. On 3 April 2020, Falkirk announced that both managers were among the staff members to be placed on furlough leave. At the start of the 2020–21 season, McCracken and Millar made ten signings for Falkirk to build the new squad, as they maintained the Bairns’ unbeaten start in the first eight league matches to the season. As a result, McCracken and Millar were named November’s Manager of the Month. They, once again, were named March’s Manager of the Month after going on a three match unbeaten run. However, their joy were short–lived when McCracken and Miller were sacked by Falkirk on 21 April 2021. It came after when the Bairns loss three times, including a 1–0 "embarrassing" defeat against Peterhead.

McCracken is married and together, they have one daughter. Outside of football, he’s a qualified Metafit Instructor. After being sacked as a manager of Falkirk, McCracken became a Wellbeing Development Officer with PFA Scotland.