Alex Totten (born 12 February 1946) is a Scottish former
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 c ...
player and manager.
Playing career
Growing up in Dennyloanhead, Stirlingshire, he signed for Liverpool straight from school in 1960 before signing for top division
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 ...
back in Scotland in 1964. After a season, he moved onto Dunfermline Athletic where he made nearly 30 top division league appearances over four seasons. In 1969, he moved on to
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
, racking up another 20 starts over his two seasons at Brockville and also scoring his first Senior goal.
In July 1971 Totten transferred to Dumfries side Queen of the South and became a first team regular for the first time his career in the lower division. The last transfer of his playing days came in July 1973 with a move to Alloa Athletic where he wound down his on-field career and became manager in 1980.
Managerial career
Three years as a manager for Alloa Athletic ended when he became manager at previous club
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
after leading Alloa Athletic to the Scottish First Division and a 6th-place finish. He then moved to
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
to become Jock Wallace's assistant, expecting to – in time – become manager. However, when
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit.
A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
was appointed in 1986, Totten left to manage Dumbarton. He then took
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
from the old Second Division to the
Premier Division
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of gov ...
in the space of three seasons. He also led St Johnstone to Scottish Cup semi-final appearances in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
. Totten's role in St Johnstone's progress was rewarded when he was made
SFWA Manager of the Year
The Scottish Football Writers' Association Manager of the Year (often called the SFWA Manager of the Year, or simply the Scottish Manager of the Year) award is given to the manager in Scottish football who is seen to have been the best manager of ...
for 1991, but Geoff Brown sacked Totten in 1992 for demanding too much money for new players.
Totten then managed East Fife and
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, before returning to Falkirk as a manager in 1996. He guided Falkirk to the 1997 Scottish Cup Final, having defeated Celtic in the semi-final. Falkirk lost 1–0 to Kilmarnock, who had sacked Totten earlier that season, in the final. Totten was eventually moved into a director of football role by Falkirk in 2002.Totten takes new role at Falkirk BBC Sport, 25 April 2002.
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
played
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
Lee McCulloch
Lee Henry McCulloch (born 14 May 1978) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is the first team assistant manager at Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian.
McCulloch was capped on eighteen occasions by the ...
scoring for Rangers and Pedro Moutinho scoring for Falkirk.