Clifford Byrne (born 26 April 1982) is an Irish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. He is currently assistant manager at side

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

Playing career

Byrne began his career with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He signed for

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

on loan in 2002. After a successful three-month loan spell concluded in February 2003, Scunthorpe manager

Brian Laws Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...

described Byrne as his best ever loan signing, attempting to sign him on a permanent transfer for £50,000. Byrne initially turned down the move in order to fight for his place at Sunderland, but subsequently joined Scunthorpe after being released by Sunderland in the summer. Following the departure of

Izzy Iriekpen Ezomo "Izzy" Iriekpen (born 14 May 1982) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. Club career West Ham United Born in Newham, London, Iriekpen joined West Ham United as a trainee in August 1998. He captained their FA Youth ...

Byrne was given the captaincy of the side. He scored two goals in the last two games of the 2008–09 season; his 89th-minute goal against Tranmere Rovers was enough to help Scunthorpe seal the last playoff place. After missing just under a year of action due to injury, Byrne made his first start of the 2011–12 season on 26 November 2011, away to Notts County. He was released by the club in May 2012. On 27 July 2012, it was announced that Byrne had signed for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. Byrne scored his first goal for Oldham against his old club Scunthorpe United in a 2–2 draw on 1 January 2013 He rejoined former club Scunthorpe on loan in September 2013. On 17 January 2014, Cliff had his contract at

cancelled by mutual agreement. In February 2014, Byrne signed for

Roddy Collins Roderick Collins (born 7 August 1960) is an Irish former professional football player and manager. During a playing career of 18 years, Collins played for many sides across England, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. While towards the ...

at the

Brandywell Stadium The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium () is a municipal football stadium in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C., (temporarily) NIFL Championship team Institute, and also to NIWFA Championship ...

to play for Derry City for the

2014 League of Ireland The 2014 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 30th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. Dundalk were champions and Cork City finished as runners-up. Teams Stadia and locations Personnel a ...

season. He scored his first League goal on his third league appearance. On 19 February 2015, he joined

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

. In February 2023, Byrne rekindled his playing career, signing for Bottesford Town in the

Northern Counties East Football League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football pyramid respectively. ...

Premier Division.

Coaching career

Byrne took part in a UEFA 'B' coaching course in summer 2005. On 30 June 2018, he was appointed assistant manager to

Grant McCann Grant Samuel McCann (born 15 April 1980) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder in the Football League. He is the manager of club Doncaster Rovers. Born in Belfast, McCann played in the D ...

. On 21 June 2019, he was appointed assistant manager again to Grant McCann, following his appointment as head coach at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. Following the takeover of Hull City by

Acun Medya Acun Medya, (stylised as ACUNMEDYA) is a Turkish media company founded by Acun Ilıcalı, Esat Yöntunç, Çaykun Ertan, Alpay Kazan, Mustafa Kazan and Evren Çağlar on 27 September 2003. Acun Ilıcalı who owns the company, is also the main ho ...

, backed by

Acun Ilıcalı Ali Acun Ilıcalı (; born 29 May 1969) is a Turkish broadcaster, entrepreneur, international TV producer, and businessman. He is the owner of the TV channels TV8 and , Turkey's digital platform Exxen. He is the founder and director of AC ...

on 19 January 2022, McCann and Byrne were sacked a few days later. In February 2022, Byrne became assistant manager at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

, once again assisting McCann. The duo were sacked in January 2023. In May 2023, Byrne was reappointed as assistant manager to McCann at Doncaster Rovers.

Career statistics

Honours

Scunthorpe United *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

: 2006–07 *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

runner-up: 2008–09

References

External links

*
Republic of Ireland profile
at Soccer Scene {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Cliff 1982 births Association footballers from Dublin (city) Living people Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Sunderland A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Bottesford Town F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players Hull City A.F.C. non-playing staff Doncaster Rovers F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century Irish sportsmen