Andy McLaren (born 5 June 1973) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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 ...

. He began his career in 1989 with Dundee United where he was for 10 years and was part of the team when they won the Scottish Cup in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. He had trouble with

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and cocaine and spent time in rehab before returning to football in June 2000. He now drives an Uber

Career

McLaren, a winger, began his career in 1989 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 ...

where he remained for 10 years, helping them win the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Tannadice Tannadice Park, officially known as The CalForth Construction Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Du ...

for English club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in 1999 and during his spell had a brief loan spell at Livingston. On returning to Reading, he tested positive for

and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and admitted to alcoholism. After spending time in rehabilitation, he returned to football in June 2000 when he was signed for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

by the then manager

Bobby Williamson Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961) is a Scottish football player and manager. Williamson played as a striker for Clydebank, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Rotherham United and Kilmarnock. He then became manager of Kilmarnock, winning ...

. During his time at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...

, he won his only

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

, a substitute appearance in a 1–1 draw against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in April 2001. He left Kilmarnock in August 2003 after rejecting a new contract and returned to Dundee United. He played for one season at Dundee United team, before being loaned to

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

and

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

before joining Morton permanently in 2005. After a season at

Cappielow Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, w ...

, he joined

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 ...

in July 2006. In his side's defeat at Clyde on 16 December 2006, McLaren was sent off for aiming a blow at a Clyde player, before getting a second red after striking another opponent on the way off the pitch. Once into the dressing rooms he received his third red card for kicking a hole in the door of the referee's room. As a consequence of his actions, Dundee decided to release him from his contract on 20 December 2006. In February 2007, McLaren signed for Ayr United on a part-time deal until the end of 2006–07, scoring on his début a month later. McLaren was released from

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Scottish Championship team Ayr United since the club was founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr ...

in May 2008, and in August 2008 spent a few games on trial at Bathgate Thistle, before a short spell at

Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; or ''Lesmahagae'', ) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west of the M74 motorway, M74, and sout ...

and a short trial at

Pollok Pollok (, ) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,000 at its peak, its population ha ...

, whom he left on the back of yet another red card. McLaren joined Petershill in 2009. On 12 May 2016, McLaren signed for

Tynecastle F.C. Tynecastle Football Club are a Scottish association football, football team playing in the . The club was formed in 2005 by the merger of Tynecastle Boys Club and Tollcross United F.C., Tollcross United. They play at the Meggetland Sports Comp ...

as a player-coach.

Personal life

McLaren gave a positive drugs test in 2000 during his time at Reading and was immediately banned from football. After receiving treatment for

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

and alcoholism, McLaren returned to football with Kilmarnock, continuing to receive treatment upon returning to first club Dundee United in 2004. Upon signing for Morton permanently in 2005, McLaren admitted to then manager

Jim McInally James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League Two club Peterhead. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 ...

he had suffered from abuse as a child, which had led to his drug and alcohol problems. He later announced he had considered suicide, including crashing into a lorry at 80 mph. McLaren's life is detailed in his autobiography, ''Tormented'', where he chronicles his abuse as a child. As highlighted in his autobiography, Andy wanted to help young people avoid the pitfalls that have affected his life and career, he delivered presentations and talks to young people on his life both in and out of football.

Career statistics

Personal awards and achievements

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 ...

Player of the Month: August 2000

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren, Andy Living people 1973 births Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Glasgow Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Dundee United F.C. players Reading F.C. players Livingston F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Pollok F.C. players Petershill F.C. players Bathgate Thistle F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Men's association football wingers English Football League players