Kenneth George Black (born 29 November 1963) is a Scottish
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
manager and former player who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian and
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
.
Playing career
A left-sided defender or midfielder, Black began his playing career with Rangers in 1980 but was farmed out to Junior side Linlithgow Rose to gain competitive experience. While still a teenager, he left Ibrox permanently in 1983 for
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...
, before joining Heart of Midlothian for £30,000 a year later.
Black was part of the ''Maroons'' side that missed out on a
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
and
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1985–86 before moving south when
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
's £350,000 bid was accepted in 1989. He was reunited with former boss Alex MacDonald in 1991 when he joined
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
and won his first senior medal with the ''Diamonds'', when they defeated
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
to win the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,1994–95, also collecting a second Scottish Cup runner-up medal when he appeared on the losing side in that season's final.
In 1999, Black moved to Raith Rovers. By now a veteran, he played there for a further two seasons.
Coaching career
Black was appointed joint assistant-manager of the
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011 ...
side in 2001. Managerial changes saw him leave
Starks Park
Stark's Park is a football stadium in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. It is the home ground of Raith Rovers, who have played there since 1891. The ground has an all-seated capacity of 9000
History
Raith started using the ground in 1891 and it seats . I ...
in early 2002 but he found a new position as assistant to former Airdrie teammate Sandy Stewart at
Airdrie United
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
, the reincarnation of
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
, later that year.
Black left Airdrie United for
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in 2004, gaining a coaching position under
Craig Levein
Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently a full-time advisor to the board of directors at Highland Football League club Brechin City.
During his playing care ...
. His contract at the
Walkers Stadium
King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...
ended when Levein was sacked in 2006 and he sealed a return to Airdrie later that year, this time as manager.
Black guided the team to the
2008–09 Scottish Challenge Cup
The 2008–09 Scottish Challenge Cup, known as the ALBA Challenge Cup due to sponsorship reasons with MG Alba, was the 18th season of the competition, competed for by all 30 members of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were ...
. He lost four First Division v Second Division promotion play-off games over the course of his tenure.
On the evening of 15 June 2010, the website of The Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser reported that despite no official statement from the club, Black had "parted company" with Airdrie United. A few days later it was confirmed by the club that Black had been "relieved of his duties". Events took a twist on 23 June however, as the BBC reported that Black and the club had failed to agree on a compensation deal to cover the remaining two years on his contract, and that Black was still being paid. Black was said to be seeking legal advice on the matter. On 15 July 2010, it was announced that Black had been appointed as an assistant coach at the Scotland national team, and that he had come to an agreement with Airdrie United over compensation.
On 19 January 2011, Black was appointed assistant manager at
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...
. Black and manager
Stuart McCall
Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964) is a professional football coach and former player. He is assistant manager at Sheffield United.
McCall played in a total of 763 league games and in 40 full international matches for Scotl ...
guided the club to high league finishes in 2011–12 (third place), 2012–13 (second) and 2013–14 (second). Black was appointed caretaker manager on 2 November 2014 after McCall resigned. He was in charge for five matches, and initially stayed on as Motherwell assistant when
Ian Baraclough
Ian Robert Baraclough (; born 4 December 1970) is an English football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of the Northern Ireland national team. He previously managed the Under-21 team.
As a player, he was a defender fr ...
was appointed manager, but was sacked on 6 February 2015. On 12 March 2015, Black again joined forces with McCall as assistant manager at Rangers; they left two months later when the club failed to gain promotion.
On 21 June 2016, Kenny Black was confirmed as assistant manager to Stuart McCall at Bradford City in the English League Division One. He left in February 2018. On 4 February 2020, he returned to
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...