Craig Harrison (born 10 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who manages

Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

side The New Saints. In his seven-year playing career, in which he played in

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

, he played for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and

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 ...

. From 2008, until his departure in 2011, he was the manager of Airbus UK Broughton. He then joined The New Saints as their new manager that same year. In June 2017, Harrison was appointed as the manager of

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

Early life

Harrison was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, Tyne and Wear.

Playing career

He is a product of the youth system at

, where he made a number of appearances during the 1997-98 promotion season under

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...

. He was unfortunate not to play in the 1998 League Cup final, having been Boro's left-back in the three league games immediately before the final. However, he did play the full match as the club sealed promotion with a 4–1 final day win over

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

. He also started the club's first game back in the

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 ...

. Whilst at the club he had loan spells with

in 1999 and

in August 2000. He joined Crystal Palace permanently the following month, and over the next two years made 34 league appearances for the club. In January 2002, he suffered a double compound fracture in his left leg whilst playing for the club's reserves against Reading. After nineteen months in rehabilitation and three operations, he subsequently retired from professional football in 2003. After retirement he battled depression and worked on property renovation and resale.

Managerial career

Early career

In the spring of 2008, he was appointed assistant manager of Welsh Premier League side Airbus UK Broughton after a chance meeting with the then manager Gareth Owen. In the summer of 2008, Harrison was appointed manager. In January 2010, he announced he was registering himself as a player for the club. He subsequently became director of football at the club.

The New Saints

In December 2011, Harrison was unveiled as director of football and manager of The New Saints In his first season, he oversaw TNS being crowned the 2011–12 Welsh Premier League Champions, as well as the winning the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

. He won the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

again in the 2013–2014 season, before securing the Welsh Premier League for the third year running and becoming the first team in Europe to win their domestic league. In May 2017, he was named Welsh Premier League manager of the season, having led the side to their sixth successive Welsh Premier League title, as well as the Welsh League Cup and breaking Ajax's 44-year-old world record for the longest winning streak in top-flight football.

Hartlepool United

On 26 May 2017, Harrison was appointed as manager of newly relegated

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

. Harrison was awarded the

's manager of the month award for October 2017. Following only one victory since late November, Harrison left his position as manager in February 2018.

Bangor City

On 23 May 2018, Harrison was appointed as manager of

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

following their relegation from the Welsh Premier League after failing to obtain a tier one license. On 19 October the same year he left the club to go to

Connah's Quay Connah's Quay (), known locally as "The Quay" and formerly known as Wepre, is a town and community in Flintshire, on the River Dee and next to the border with England. With a population of 16,771, it is the largest town in Flintshire. The ...

as first team coach. He stated a desire to return to full-time work as the key factor behind his decision.

Connah's Quay Nomads

In October 2018, Harrison joined the coaching staff at Connah's Quay Nomads following his departure from Bangor City. In September 2021, Harrison was appointed manager of Connah's Quay following the resignation of

Andy Morrison Andrew Charles Morrison (born 30 July 1970) is a Scottish football manager and former footballer who last served as the head coach of the Sri Lanka national team. As a player he was a central defender who played in the Premier League with Black ...

Return to The New Saints

In August 2022 he returned to The New Saints as Head Coach.

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a manager

TNS *

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2022–23, 2023–242024-25 *

: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–162022-23 *

Welsh League Cup The Cymru League Cup, currently known as the Nathaniel MG Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a cup competition in Welsh association football, football organised by the Football Association of Wales. The competition was established in 1992 and is c ...

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2023–242024-25 As a manager Connah Quay • Welsh League Cup: 2021-22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Craig 1977 births Living people Footballers from Gateshead English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Middlesbrough F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players English football managers Airbus UK Broughton F.C. managers The New Saints F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers Bangor City F.C. managers Cymru Premier managers National League (English football) managers Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. managers