David John Irons (born 18 July 1961) is a Scottish former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. Irons' playing career spanned 26 years as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for a host of clubs, most notably for

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

and

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 ...

. Irons has previously been manager of Annan Athletic, Gretna,

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 ...

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...

and Gretna 2008, and assistant-manager at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

Early life

Born in Glasgow in 1961, Davie Irons was raised in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

after moving to

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

with his parents in 1964.

Playing career

Irons began his career with local club Queen of the South in 1979. After only one year of the Harkness Era at

Palmerston Park Palmerston Park is a association football, football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South F.C., Queen of the South, who have played there ...

and a total of four first team appearances, Irons moved into Scottish Junior football, joining Kello Rovers, where he played for four seasons. Irons returned to the professional game in 1984 with

and went on to play in 75 league matches for ''The Honest Men'', scoring 12 league goals at

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 1987, Irons signed for

, playing in 54 league matches, scoring 7 league goals. The following season Irons signed for

. Irons scored the opening goal for the ''Pars'' in the match which confirmed Queen of the South's relegation to the Second Division in May 1989. After 106 league matches and 9 league goals for the

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

club, Irons signed for

, where he stayed for two seasons in

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

, playing in 84 league matches, scoring 10 league goals. Irons then joined the sixth professional club of his career,

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the summer of 1993, playing for three seasons at

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

, playing in 52 league matches and scored two goals. Irons returned to

club ''Queens'', under the new regime of

Norman Blount Norman Blount is the Scottish former chairman of Queen of the South football club. Blount was instrumental as the new broom that swept through the Dumfries club in the mid and late 90s replacing the previous regime under which the club had gon ...

, to play for a Queens Select team on 23 April 1995. The opposition club was

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

, in a game that ended in a 2–2 draw, to mark Queens' 75th anniversary and the opening of the new East Stand. Other former players to appear alongside Irons included Andy Thomson and

Ted McMinn Kevin Clifton "Ted" McMinn (born 28 September 1962) is a Scottish former association footballer who played as a winger. His nickname is ''The Tin Man''. Playing career Early years Born in Castle Douglas and raised in nearby Dumfries, McMinn ...

. Irons then signed for

for the 1996–97 season, playing in 43 league matches and scoring one solitary goal.

Coaching career

Irons spent five seasons as the

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of Annan Athletic from 1997 until 2002.

Gretna

In 2005, Irons' playing career ended after three seasons with Gretna, having played in 89 league matches, scoring two goals for the ''Black and Whites''. Irons then agreed to be the assistant-manager to Rowan Alexander to remain with Gretna. After this Irons was the caretaker-manager of Gretna between March 2007 and the end of the 2006–07 season, during Alexander's sabbatical from the

club. Gretna then won promotion to 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 ...

on 28 April 2007, after a 3–2 win at

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

versus Ross County. This victory clinched the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

Championship for the ''Black and Whites'' as they finished one point ahead of one of Irons' former club's,

. On 18 July 2007, Irons was appointed Gretna's permanent manager, with

Mick Wadsworth Michael Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950) is an English football coach and former player. Born in Barnsley his playing career spanned only one season in The Football League with Scunthorpe United, along with spells playing for Gainsborough Trin ...

as the club's assistant-manager. On 19 February 2008, Irons resigned as Gretna's manager and soon afterwards the club entered administration and went out of business at the end of the 2007–08 season.

Greenock Morton

Irons was then appointed manager of

soon after departing from the Gretna manager's position. Irons' first priority was to retain Morton's place in the First Division. The club won two key matches versus

and

, both by the scoreline of 3–0 and this retained Morton's place in the First Division, as the club's goal difference was one better than Clyde and the

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

club ended in eighth place. In Irons' first full season as manager of Greenock Morton, the 2008–09, the club finished in sixth place in the First Division, despite a poor start to the season, when the club only amassed four points from the first quarter of the season. Irons also achieved a win versus Hibs at

Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-largest ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

that same season. However, after a poor start to the 2009–10 season, losing five of the first six league matches and with the club at the basement of the

, Irons contract was terminated with immediate effect on 21 September 2009, alongside the club's assistant-manager

Derek Collins Derek Collins (born 15 April 1969 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Collins started his playing career with Greenock Morton where he spent over a decade after making his debut in 1987. In 1997 Collins joined Hibernian a ...

Threave Rovers

After being sacked by Greenock Morton, Irons was appointed the player-coach of South of Scotland League club Threave Rovers from

Castle Douglas Castle Douglas () is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ecclesiastical paris ...

. When Irons appeared as a used substitute in the final minute of a match versus Whitehill Welfare on 24 October 2009, Irons was the oldest player to have played in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Gerry Britton as the assistant-manager of

in January 2010 but Irons' contract was terminated by the club on 26 February 2010. After leaving the ''Jags'', Irons returned to Threave Rovers as a player-coach once again. Irons then superseded his own record as the oldest player to appear in a Scottish Cup match, when aged 49 and a number of days, he played for Threave Rovers on 20 November 2010 in the third round of the Scottish Cup in a 2–2 draw versus

Ochilview Park Ochilview Park is a association football, football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Stenhousemuir F.C., Stenhousemuir. The stadium has a c ...

Stenhousemuir

Irons was then appointed manager of the ''Warriors'' at the end of December 2010. Irons then resigned as the club's manager in July 2012 for personal reasons.

Carlisle United

Following his resignation of the

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

club, Irons joined

Police Scotland Police Scotland (), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottis ...

and was also working part-time as a scout for

. After a short term job as a coach with

Northern Football League The Northern League is a British men's association football, football league in North East England, north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Footb ...

club Celtic Nation, Irons departed the club to rejoin the

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

club as the full-time youth team manager in July 2013, after the departure of former coach Eric Kinder to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. Irons had also started attending friendly matches with the ''Cumbrians'' manager

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...

around the same time. Following a poor start to the 2013–14 season, Irons was appointed caretaker-manager of the ''Cumbrians'' after the departure of Abbott, alongside

Graham Kavanagh Graham Anthony Kavanagh (born 2 December 1973) is an Irish football manager and former professional player. Kavanagh had a 19-year-long career and played for Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednes ...

and Tony Caig. On 30 September 2013 Irons was appointed Kavanagh's permanent assistant-manager of Carlisle United.

Gretna 2008

On 8 August 2017, Irons was appointed manager of Gretna 2008, alongside Andy Aitken. Both resigned their position as joint managers on 27 November 2018.

Second spell as Stenhousemuir manager

Irons began a second spell as manager of

in September 2019. Stenhousemuir announced on 20 April 2021 that Irons would leave the club by mutual consent after their game later that day.

Personal life

Irons is married to Gillian and has three children. His daughter, Amy is a radio and TV presenter who works for

Heart Scotland Heart Scotland is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. The station relaunched as Heart on 6 May 2014, serving central and southern Scotland from studios in Glasgow city centre. Heart Scotland o ...

and

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

. Eldest son, Lewis, is also a presenter who works for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as a sport reporter.

Managerial statistics

* statistics available from soccerbase.com

Honours

; Dunfermline Athletic *

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

: 1988–89 ; Partick Thistle *

promotion: 1991–92 ;Gretna *

: 2006–07

References

;Sources * *
Profile at Profile at Playerhistory.com

External links

"First for thrills", Irons gives his opinion on the 2007–08 Scottish First Division season
– BBC Sport website {{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, Davie 1961 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Footballers from Dumfries Scottish men's footballers Queen of the South F.C. players Kello Rovers F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. non-playing staff Partick Thistle F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Annan Athletic F.C. players Gretna F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Annan Athletic F.C. managers Gretna F.C. managers Greenock Morton F.C. managers Scottish Junior Football Association players Stenhousemuir F.C. managers Scottish Premier League managers People educated at Dumfries Academy Scottish Football League managers Clydebank F.C. (1965) managers Carlisle United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football defenders Scottish Professional Football League managers Men's association football midfielders Scottish police officers Scottish football coaches category:Police Scotland officers