Scott Allan (born 28 November 1991) is a Scottish former professional

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is currently a coach with club

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

. Allan began his career in Scotland with

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

, and spent time on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

with Forfar Athletic, before joining English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in 2012. He never broke into the first team, and after loan spells with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(twice),

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, he was released at the end of the 2013–14 season. Allan then returned to Scottish football with Hibernian. After one season with Hibs, Allan joined

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. After signing for Celtic he had loan spells at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and Hibernian. Allan returned to Hibernian under freedom of contract in 2019 after four years at Celtic, departing in 2022. Allan spent the next two seasons contracted to

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

, and also went on loan to Northern Irish club

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

, with whom he won the

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

. He then spent the following season as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

for Kelty Hearts. Allan retired in the summer of 2025 and began his coaching career. He is also a Scotland youth international, having represented his country at under-17 and under-21 level.

Early life

Allan was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and was a pupil at Rosshall Academy in Crookston until 2008. He grew up as a

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

supporter and said his idol was

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of ...

Club career

Dundee United

Allan joined

at the age of 10, and signed a full-time contract in January 2008. In September 2008 he represented United against Montrose in a

Forfarshire Cup The Forfarshire Cup is a football competition in Scotland competed for by teams in the Forfarshire Football Association from Angus, Dundee and Perth. The name of the competition is often baffling to some, as "Forfarshire" is an archaic and angli ...

tie. Allan signed for Forfar Athletic in September 2010 on an emergency

until 30 October 2010. He made his debut for them in a Second Division league fixture against

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They compete in as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. According to the official club hist ...

on 2 September 2010. In total he made four league appearances for Forfar, scoring one goal for them, in his last game for the club on 30 October 2010 against Livingston. After returning to United, Allan was named on the bench for four

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

(SPL) fixtures during the 2010–11 season but did not make an appearance. He made his debut for United on 14 July 2011, as a substitute in their 1–0

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

defeat against

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

. He made his SPL debut on 31 July 2011 against Heart of Midlothian at

Tynecastle Stadium Tynecastle Park, also known as Tynecastle Stadium, is a association football, football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian ...

in an away victory for Dundee United, playing 83 minutes. Contract negotiations between Allan, whose deal expired at the end of the 2011–12 season, and United broke down in September 2011. It was reported that he was asking for £1,600 per week, which would have made him the third highest earner at the club. Several clubs, including

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, expressed an interest in signing Allan. As a result of rejecting a new contract, Allan fell out with Manager

Peter Houston Peter Houston (born 19 July 1958) is a Scottish football player and manager who is assistant manager of the Scotland under-21 side. Houston played as a striker for Airdrieonians, Livingston United, Albion Rovers, Falkirk, Dumbarton and East ...

West Bromwich Albion

2011–12: Portsmouth loan

In December 2011, United agreed a deal with

. Allan completed his move to Albion on 9 January 2012. In February 2012, he joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

on a 28-day youth loan. His debut in English football came on 25 February for Portsmouth, when he featured in the starting line-up playing 76 minutes in scoreless draw at home to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. He then extended his deal by another 28 days on Thursday 22 March 2012. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth and set up a goal for Greg Halford in a 2–1 win against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on 17 April 2012.

2012–13: MK Dons and Portsmouth loans

After his loan at Portsmouth, Allan was linked with a loan move with Crystal Palace. However, the move fell through. On 29 September 2012, Allan joined League One side MK Dons on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in a 1–0 victory. On 29 October 2012, after little success with MK Dons, Albion sent Allan back to Portsmouth. Shortly signing for Portsmouth, Allan made his debut in a 1–0 loss against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, playing 90 minutes. Weeks later, Allan scored on his return in a 3–2 loss against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. After the game, the club revealed they are on the verge of extending Allan's loan spell and it was successfully negotiated for another month On 21 December 2012, his loan spell was extended until 4 January 2013 He returned to Albion when his loan expired, having played his last game in a 2–0 loss against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

2013–14: Birmingham City loan

Allan signed for

on a season-long loan on 19 July 2013. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 defeat at home to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on 3 August, and scored twice as Birmingham beat

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

3–2

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

in the League Cup three days later. He made no first-team appearances after August until receiving a surprise recall to the squad, playing in two of the last three League matches of the season. West Bromwich Albion chose not to take up the option of extending Allan's contract for another year, and he was released at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Hibernian

Despite being linked to a move to

, Allan signed a two-year contract with Hibernian in July 2014. Allan made his debut for Hibs on 5 August 2014, coming on as a substitute during extra-time in a 2–1 defeat against Rangers in the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup, He made his first league appearance for Hibs on 17 August, coming on as a late substitute against Hearts. Allan soon established himself as a regular in the team, and after scoring his first goal for the club in a 6–3 win over

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

in November, manager

Alan Stubbs Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a centre-back who played top flight football for every club he played for. He played in the Premier League with Bolton Wande ...

described him as being "as good as anyone in the league", adding that he considered Allan to be "head and shoulders above a lot of people he's up against." He turned in an outstanding performance for Hibs in their 4–0 win over Rangers on 27 December 2014, where he provided assists for Hibs' third and fourth goals and won the Man of the Match award. Allan helped Hibernian finish in second place ahead of Rangers, although Hibernian lost to them in the promotion play-offs. He did finish the season by being named the PFA Scotland Player of the Year for the Championship. During the summer of 2015, Rangers made three transfer bids for Allan, the latter offer being for around £280,000. Although Allan also submitted a transfer request, Hibernian turned down all these bids as they were reluctant to sell him to their main rivals for promotion. A bid of £375,000 from

was also turned down by Hibs. Celtic were then reported as expressing an interest in signing Allan, and Hibs subsequently agreed a 'cash plus player' deal with Celtic, with Liam Henderson moving on loan in the opposite direction.

Celtic

2015–16

On 14 August 2015, Allan signed a four-year deal with

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

champions Celtic. He made his debut on 22 August, coming on as a substitute during the second half of Celtic's 3–1 league win away at Dundee United. Allan made his

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

debut, with 10 minutes remaining, in a 3–1 defeat of

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

a week later. He made his first start on 10 December, playing 73 minutes in a 1–1 draw at Fenerbahçe in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Allan did not make his first league start for Celtic until 26 February, in a 1–1 draw at

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

. His only other start for the team was a defeat at St Johnstone on 11 May. Despite being mainly used as substitute throughout his first season, Allan managed to register assists in wins at

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

on 29 November and

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

on 11 January, and also made three more assists at home to Hamilton on 19 January and Inverness on 20 February. Allan made 17 appearances in all competitions for Celtic during the 2015–16 season. His 13 appearances in the league were enough to qualify him for a winner's medal, after Celtic won the

title.

2016–17: Rotherham loan

Allan was loaned to

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

team

for the 2016–17 season. The move did not go well for Allan; he was dropped from the team in October 2016 with manager Alan Stubbs publicly criticising the player for lack of effort. Allan only played in a further three games after that, before returning to Celtic at the end of the season.

2017–18: Dundee and Hibernian loans

Allan joined

in June 2017, signing on a loan deal that was due to run for the whole of the 2017/18 season. He made his debut on 18 July in a 2–1 win over

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

, providing assists for both Dundee goals. His loan to Dundee was curtailed in January 2018, as Dundee, Celtic and Hibernian exchanged three players. On 31 January 2018, Allan signed for Hibernian for a second time, joining on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season. In his first game back with Hibs on 3 February 2018, he won the

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

which led to their winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Rangers at Ibrox. He scored the first goal of his second spell with Hibs on 9 March, in a 2–0

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any association football, football match played between Football in Scotland, Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs), the two o ...

win against Hearts.

2018–19

Allan did not play in a competitive match for Celtic during the first part of the 2018–19 season, only appearing in pre-season friendlies and

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

matches. He signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibernian in January 2019.

Hibernian (third spell)

Allan returned to Hibernian during the summer of 2019, having agreed a three-year contract with the club. He scored the winning goal in his first league appearance since signing, against St Mirren on 3 August. During the early part of the 2020–21 season Allan was unable to play or train due to an unspecified medical issue. He resumed training in early December, although manager Jack Ross would not put a timescale on Allan playing in a match. On 23 January, Allan made his first appearance for Hibs after five months out of the team. Allan later said that he had been diagnosed with

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which muscle tissues of the heart become thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ...

, a heart condition that caused tiredness and shortage of breath. On 27 March 2021, Allan joined Inverness CT on loan for the rest of the 2020–21 season. Allan returned to Hibs for the 2021–22 season, but made only six starts and was released at the end of his contract. Over his three spells at Easter Road, he made 129 appearances in all competitions and scored 17 goals.

Arbroath

Having expressed his worry that he was being overlooked by clubs as a potential signing due to his physical problems, Allan signed for

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

side

on 17 August 2022, on a two-year deal.

Larne (loan)

On 23 August 2023, after failing to nail down a regular place at Gayfield, Allan joined Northern Irish club and reigning

champions

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

on a season-long loan. Allan was an unused substitute in the

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster F ...

final in which Larne defeated

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

. Despite being unavailable for the majority of the season, Allan came on as a substitute and scored in Larne's final league game of the season in a 5–0 win over

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

which saw them confirmed as champions.

Kelty Hearts

After leaving Arbroath in the summer, Allan joined

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

club Kelty Hearts on a permanent deal in July 2024 as both a player and the first team coach under manager Michael Tidser. Allan made his competitive debut on 16 July in a

group stage game away to Elgin City. Allan scored his first goal for the club in the first minute of a league win at home against

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...

. Allan also scored the following week in an away win over former club

. In their end-of-season squad update, Kelty announced that Allan was departing the club. In July 2025, Allan announced his retirement from playing football and that he had joined

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

club

as the side's first-team coach.

International career

Allan played youth football for Scotland. He made his debut for the

Scotland national under-21 football team The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team. As a European under-21 t ...

on 10 August 2011, against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Personal life

Shortly after joining Dundee United as a youth, Allan was diagnosed with

Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone require ...

. He requires daily insulin injections, but the condition has not unduly hindered his football career. Allan was charged with assault in November 2010 after an incident in

which left two men needing hospital treatment. Charges against him were dropped on the basis of insufficient evidence, although three other men involved in the incident were convicted.

Career statistics

Honours

Celtic *

: 2015–16 Larne *

: 2023–24 *

: 2023–24 Kelty Hearts * East of Scotland Cup: 2024–25 Individual *

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foo ...

: 2014–15 Championship *

PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish footba ...

: 2014–15 Championship

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Scott 1991 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Dundee United F.C. players Forfar Athletic F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. players Arbroath F.C. players Kelty Hearts F.C. players Larne F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players NIFL Premiership players People with type 1 diabetes 21st-century Scottish sportsmen