Paul Sturrock

Sturrock made his debut in the European Cup Winners' Cup match v Juil Petrosani of Romania on 18 September 1974 and his league debut on 28 December 1974 as a substitute against Motherwell. In his first season at Tannadice he made nine League appearances and came on from the substitutes' bench for three more and in the process he scored six goals. His first goal for Dundee United was one of two he scored in a 2–2 draw with Rangers at Tannadice on 5 April 1975. Dundee United finished fourth in the League that year. In the following season, he made 18 League appearances, eight as sub, and scored three times. He was also played as a substitute in two of the three Scottish Cup ties and was on from the start in five out of six League Cup games and scored once. He also started in three of the four UEFA Cup games netting one in that competition, too. 1976–77 not only saw Dundee United consolidate their Premier League position but throughout the campaign Sturrock was an ever-present, playing in all 36 League games and scoring 15 times. Adding that total to one each in the Scottish Cup and League Cup he was top scorer at the Club that year. He played in United's only Scottish Cup tie, a 4–1 defeat at St Mirren. He also appeared four times plus once as sub out of the six League Cup ties. In a short-lived Anglo Scottish Cup campaign he was brought on as sub in one leg of the tie against Aberdeen. In 1982–83, Dundee United won the Scottish League Championship, losing only four League…

Sturrock made his first appearance for the Scotland under-21 team on 12 October 1976, in a goalless draw with Czechoslovakia. Four months later, he scored in a 3–2 win against Wales under-21s on 9 February 1977. Sturrock made his full international debut for Scotland against Wales on 16 May 1981, and on 8 November 1981, he scored his first goal for Scotland in the 2–1 World Cup qualifier defeat against Portugal in Lisbon. Sturrock won 20 caps for his country, scoring three goals. He was a non-playing member of the Scotland squad for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain and appeared twice in Mexico in 1986.

In a 2012 study by Stefan Szymanski, economics professor at the University of Michigan, Sturrock was rated as one of the best managers in English football.

St Johnstone

In 1993, Sturrock became the manager of Premier Division team St Johnstone. The team were relegated to the First Division at the end of the 1993–94 season. It took a while for Sturrock to improve the club's fortunes, as they lost 4–0 to Stenhousemuir in the 1994–95 Scottish Cup, and he then collapsed in the dugout at Tannadice while managing St Johnstone against Dundee United during the 1995–96 season. While he was recovering in hospital from the collapse, Sturrock was called by his former international manager Alex Ferguson. Ferguson warned Sturrock that he was "trying to make bad players into good players" and to just get rid of the "bad pros" in his squad. Sturrock guided Saints to promotion back to the Premier Division in 1996–97, winning the First Division by 20 points. In their first season back in the Premier Division, St Johnstone finished in fifth place in 1997–98.

Dundee United

In September 1998 Sturrock was appointed manager at Dundee United. He made a bright start to his time as manager at Tannadice, where he was feted by the fans for his excellent spell as a player. His United team failed to recover from the sale of top scorer Billy Dodds in December 1999, when they were lying third in the table. The team scored few goals following Dodds's departure, and Sturrock resigned…

Sturrock was born in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, and grew up in Pitlochry, Perthshire, where he was educated at the local primary and secondary schools and played for amateur side Grandtully Vale. In 1972, he joined Vale of Atholl of the Perthshire Amateur First Division (where he returned as coach in his latter days with Dundee United), and in the 1972–73 season he scored approximately 100 goals. He then moved on to Bankfoot Athletic, and in the 1973–74 season he scored 53 goals as they finished 2nd in the Scottish Junior FA First Division. He had trials with Morton and St Johnstone, but was signed for Dundee United by then manager Jim McLean on 1 July 1974.