Christopher Aitken (born 21 September 1979) is a Scottish retired

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 ...

and current manager of

Kilwinning Rangers Kilwinning Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kilwinning, Ayrshire. Formed in 1899, the club competes in the West of Scotland Football League, and are eligible to participate in the Scottish Cup. Nicknam ...

. He moved into management at

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a raise ...

after his elder brother

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

resigned from his position on 10 August 2021.

is also a former footballer.

Playing career

Morton, Clyde & Morton again

Aitken started his professional career at Greenock Morton making his debut against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 1 April 2000. Aitken was with the

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

club for only two games before being signed by Clyde on 14 June 2000. He made his first team debut for Clyde on 5 August 2000 against

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 ...

and went on to make a further 23 appearances for Clyde. Aitken scored his first goal of his professional career against Airdrie on 22 November 2000. Aitken stayed with Clyde for just over a season before returning to play for Greenock Morton on 10 November 2001. He made his second debut for Morton on 10 November 2001 against Forfar Athletic. Aitken remained with Greenock Morton for two seasons making 19 appearances for the club, before signing for

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 the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

in June 2003.

Hamilton

Aitken made his debut for Hamilton and scored his first goal on 2 August 2003 against

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 ol ...

in the Scottish League Challenge Cup. He went on to make over 50 league appearances, scoring 8 goals for the club during his time there, before he signed for Stirling Albion on 31 January 2005.

Stirling

Aitken made his debut for Stirling Albion against

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

on 5 February 2005. Aitken scored his first goal for Stirling Albion against Brechin City on 26 February 2005. Since signing in 2005, Aitken went on to make over 90 league appearances, scoring over 30 goals for the Binos. Aitken was awarded the Players Player of the Year award for the 2006–07 season. He was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

side and at the end of the 2007–08 season, Aitken won the Stirling Albion supporters club player of the year award and the Stirling Albion supporters Trust award. Aitken was the leading goal scorer for Stirling Albion in the 2007–08 season. In May 2008, after Stirling Albion were relegated to the

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

, Aitken agreed a two-year deal with Second Division rivals Ayr United, stating that Ayr's ambition is what drew him to

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

Ayr

In May 2008, Aitken became Ayr's eighth signing since the end of the 2007–08 season. Chris is widely recognised as one of the best penalty kick taker's in Scottish football, having only missed two out of 40 attempts. He played a major part in Ayr's playoff success in the 2008–09 season, scoring three goals against Brechin and captaining the side all the way to the First division. On 13 January 2010, Chris, by mutual agreement, had his contract ended, and signed for former club Stirling Albion.

Stirling (second spell)

Aitken made his second début for ''the Beanos'' in a 3–3 draw with East Fife on 23 January 2010. Three goals in his first two games back in an Albion shirt showed that Chris was just as potent a goal threat as ever. It was announced he was to be released from 15 May 2011.

Stranraer

After his release he joined Stranraer for the 2011–12 season, signing a deal in May 2011. Aitken spent 5 seasons with Stranraer before retiring at the end of the 2015–16 season.

Coaching career

After being involved with first-team coaching with Stranraer during the 2015–16 season, Aitken was appointed assistant manager to Brian Reid shortly after announcing his retirement. After Reid left the club by mutual consent in January 2017, Aitken was made interim manager until Reid's successor could be appointed. Not long after this, former Blues assistant Stephen Farrell was named the new manager of Stranraer, taking up the position following on 23 January 2017. Aitken remained as interim manager for the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

, which the side lost 4–0, before returning to his previous position as assistant manager. On 10 August 2021, became caretaker manager at

. In February 2023, Aitken took over as manager of

West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 202 ...

side

; bringing in

Ian Durrant Ian Durrant (born 29 October 1966) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is currently a first team coach at East Kilbride. During his playing career, Durrant played as a midfielder for Rangers for 13 years and was part ...

and

Owen Archdeacon Owen Duncan Archdeacon (born 4 March 1966 in Greenock) is a Scottish former footballer. He began his senior career at Celtic before going on to play for Barnsley, Carlisle United and finally Greenock Morton. Archdeacon played on the left-wing for ...

to form his coaching team.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Chris Living people 1979 births Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football midfielders Greenock Morton F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Stirling Albion F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Scottish Football League players Stranraer F.C. players People from Erskine Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Renfrewshire Scottish football managers East Kilbride F.C. players Lowland Football League managers Kilwinning Rangers F.C. managers