Stephen Antony McLaughlin (born 14 June 1990) is an Irish

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 ...

who plays for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

club

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and y ...

as a defender.

Career

Early years

McLaughlin began his career at his local club St. Mary's, and played all his under-age football for the club. In 2006, he signed for Clonmany Shamrocks senior side of the

Inishowen Football League The Inishowen Football League (IOFL) is an amateur league for Association football, football clubs in the Inishowen peninsula of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. There are three divisions, with a Promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, and was successful during his first spell in junior football.

Finn Harps

After appearing in League and Cup finals for Clonmany, McLaughlin was signed by

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was t ...

, and played for their Under 20 and A Championship sides upon arrival. He was then called into the first-team, and went on to play several games for the club in the 2008 season. He was then assigned the no. 7 jersey for the 2009 campaign, with manager James Gallagher using McLaughlin right across the midfield and front-line.

Derry City

He signed for Derry City after the 2010 season, after impressing in games against Derry at both

Finn Park Finn Park ( ga, Páirc na Finne) is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats. Facilities The ground is in a relatively dilapidated condi ...

and the

Brandywell The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporari ...

. The move was touted at the end of the season, with McLaughlin signing terms with Stephen Kenny's side in January 2011. He wore the no. 15 shirt for the Candystripes. McLaughlin secured promotion from the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

with the club in his first season, and won the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

in his second, netting 17 goals along the way.

Nottingham Forest

McLaughlin signed with English Championship side

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on 3 January 2013, believed to be for a fee of roughly £160,000. McLaughlin did not make an appearance during the remainder of the 2012–13 season. After a spell out on loan to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

at the start of the 2013 season, McLaughlin made his full Forest debut against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

on 21 April 2014 under caretaker manager

Gary Brazil Gary Nicholas Brazil (born 19 September 1962) is an English former professional footballer and football manager, who is now academy manager at Nottingham Forest. He scored 160 goals in 658 league and cup games in an 18-year professional career. ...

. At the beginning of the 2014–15 season under

Stuart Pearce Stuart Pearce (born 24 April 1962) is an English professional football manager and former player, who was most recently a first-team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He was nicknamed "Psycho" for his unforgiving style of play. ...

, McLaughlin became a more prominent member of the first team, with four appearances from the bench in Forest's first six games. As appearances for the first team at Forest became increasingly limited, McLaughlin joined their local rivals

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

on a one-month emergency loan on 30 September 2014.

Southend (loan)

After a spell back at Forest, McLaughlin signed with

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

until the end of the 2014–15 season. His debut for the Shrimpers was away at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–1 ...

, however this lasted just six minutes as the game was abandoned due to torrential rain, and his next game was at home to

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market t ...

which Southend won 2–0, and McLaughlin played 87 minutes. He scored twice in his spell for the Shrimpers, the first was in a 2–0 win over

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

and the second helped Southend to

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

as he scored in extra time of the League 2 play-off semi-final against

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...

. He went on to play an hour in the final against

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

, which Southend eventually won 7–6 on penalties meaning that they won promotion to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. After that game McLaughlin's loan spell ended, although having been released by Nottingham Forest, he has been linked with a permanent move back to Southend.

Southend United

On 27 August 2015, McLaughlin joined Southend United on a permanent deal, signing a two-year deal. McLaughlin made his debut as a substitute against Coventry City on 31 August 2015. He left at the end of the 2019–20 season after Southend was relegated.

Mansfield Town

On 11 September 2020, McLaughlin signed with Mansfield Town on a short term deal. After missing out on promotion with defeat in the 2022 EFL League Two play-off Final, McLaughlin signed a new two-year contract in July 2022.

Career statistics

Honours

;Derry City *

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invite ...

: 2011 *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

;Southend United *

Football League Two play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engl ...

: 2014–15 Individual * PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year: 2012 * Mansfield Town Player of the Season: 2021–22

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Stephen 1990 births Living people Association footballers from County Donegal Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football midfielders Finn Harps F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players League of Ireland XI players League of Ireland players English Football League players