Steven MacLean

Rangers

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, MacLean started out his football career at Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale, where he spent six years at the academy. When MacLean was a teenager, he was given a choice to join either Manchester City and Rangers, but chose the latter. MacLean progressed through the academy. In the 2002–03 season, MacLean was called up to the Rangers first team and made his professional football debut, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 win against Partick Thistle on 22 December 2002. He made three more appearances for the club, all of them were coming on from the substitute bench. MacLean appeared as an unused substitute in the Scottish Cup final, as Rangers won 1–0 against Dundee to win the tournament. Despite receiving a medal, he felt like a fraud for not playing in the final. On 24 December 2003, MacLean signed a one-year contract extension with Rangers. Upon returning to his parent club, however, Rangers manager Alex McLeish deemed that he was not "a first team prospect" and placed him on the transfer list. MacLean previously stated that he would leave Rangers if there’s no first team place for him next season.

Scunthorpe United (loan)

Ahead of the 2003–04 season, MacLean was linked with a move to England, with clubs, such as, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United all interested in signing him. In the end, he joined Third Division outfit Scunthorpe United. MacLean made his debut for the Irons, coming on as a 72nd-minute…

Although never capped by the senior team, MacLean represented Scotland at various age levels.

In August 2016, MacLean revealed that he’s already received his coaching license and would like to do coaching once his playing career is over MacLean retired at the end of 2019–20 season to become a first-team coach for St Johnstone. His role as the Saints’ first team coach was influential among players, his former teammates and staff members. In October 2020, MacLean stated that he would come out of retirement if there’s an injury crisis within the club. After manager Callum Davidson tested positive for Covid-19, MacLean took charge of St Johnstone’s match against Motherwell on 19 March 2022, helping them win 2–1.

St Johnstone

MacLean became interim manager of St Johnstone on 16 April 2023, following the departure of Callum Davidson. His first match as an interim manager for the Saints came on 22 April 2023 against Hibernian, as the club drew 1–1. An improved run of results meant that St Johnstone avoided relegation in 2022–23, which was confirmed on 20 May 2023 when the Saints beat Kilmarnock 1–0. It was announced on 27 May 2023 that MacLean would be their manager on a permanent basis. In the 2023–24 season, MacLean made a massive change for St Johnstone, signing eleven players while also letting go of seventeen players, including long serving player and former teammate David Wotherspoon. However, he made poor start of the season, as the Saints won only once and was eliminated in the group stage of the Scottish League Cup. This prompted by the bookies to be the…

Following his return from his injury in late–2014, MacLean’s knee injury caused him not to play in the artificial pitch for the rest of his playing career, due to fears from manager Tommy Wright that allow him to play on artificial pitch could worsen his knee during his time at St Johnstone. For example, he did not play at Palmerston Park (Queen of the South’s stadium), New Douglas Park (Hamilton Academical’s stadium), Rugby Park (Kilmarnock’s stadium), Firhill Stadium (Partick Thistle’s stadium) and Stark's Park (Raith Rovers’ stadium). Despite this, MacLean did play in the artificial pitch without having any injuries, which were against Patrick Thistle twice during the 2016–17 season and FK Riteriai. He also played three times at Stark's Park while on loan at Raith Rovers. He spoke about not playing in the artificial pitch, saying: "It is always frustrating to miss any game but knowing you are fit makes it even worse missing out. But the astro is too big a risk. It’s for the best but I am still trying to get my head round it. I just have to deal with it." MacLean later stated that manager Tommy Wright made a decision to drop out of the squad whenever St Johnstone plays away in an artificial pitch. After scoring against Hamilton Academical in the opening game of the 2018–19 season, manager Tommy Wright defended his action, stating that it was his decision to drop MacLean, citing medical advice. At one point, as a result of being dropped from the squad, he did commentary…