Gerard Joseph Britton (born 20 October 1970 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

) is a Scottish former

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 ...

, who played as a striker. He was last formerly the chief executive of

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 ...

, who he previously played for and managed. He left his position at the end of the 22/23 season.

Playing career

Britton began his playing career with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, making two league appearances and spending time on loan with

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 ...

, where he played the same amount games before beginning the first of two spells at

in 1992. In two years at

Firhill Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick ...

, Britton played in over sixty league matches, scoring fifteen times before moving to

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 ...

. Again, this was to be the first in two spells at a club for Britton, and he managed a similar record at

Dens Park Dens Park is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yards (183 metres) away. History Dundee moved to "Dens" from the ...

before signing for

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 ...

in 1996. Britton managed thirteen league goals in his first season at

East End Park East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of . The stadium plays host to the home matches of side, Dunfermline Athle ...

, helping ''The Pars'' to fifth place in the league. The following season, Britton only appeared in around half as many matches and scored just three times as the club finished eighth. In 1998–99, Britton began the season in the first team but after just one goal by mid-November, had a month on loan with

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

, where he scored once in five matches. He returned to the Dunfermline team in December but with only more goal all season, found himself released in the summer. Britton joined

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

champions

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

in June and played in around half the club's league fixtures, scoring five times. The following season, he played slightly fewer matches but scored a hat-trick in his final appearance as ''Livi'' won 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 ...

. Rather than move back into 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 ...

, Britton stayed in the First Division by returning to Partick Thistle, who had just clinched the Second Division title. Britton hit twelve goals in the league as ''The Jags'' won a second successive title, ensuring he also won a second successive First Division title. Thistle finished in tenth place in 2002–03 with Britton netting five league goals. In December the following season, Britton was appointed co-manager with

Derek Whyte Derek Whyte (born 31 August 1968) is a Scottish former association football, footballer, who played for Celtic F.C., Celtic, Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough, Aberdeen F.C., Aberdeen and Partick Thistle F.C., Partick Thistle. He also won twelve ...

but the pair could not prevent Thistle from relegation. In 2004–05, Britton played once – in September – before being dismissed from Thistle in December 2004. After training with

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, Britton signed a short-term deal in March, making three substitute appearances towards the end of the season. Britton then had a short second spell with Dundee at the start of 2005–06, combining his playing duties with an assistant manager role, before having his contract terminated in August. Britton, who had been acting as caretaker manager, joined

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

a week later and played out the season with them

After playing

At the end of the 2005/06 season, Britton left Brechin to become manager of

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

Britton made his last senior appearance in November 2006 as an 85th-minute substitute but under his leadership, Stranraer finished in the relegation play-off place and were relegated after losing to East Fife. In January 2008, with the team lying third, Britton won the Third Division Manager of the Month award for December but resigned just a month later to return to Partick Thistle for the third time as assistant manager. On 7 October 2013, Britton became academy director at

. Britton was appointed Partick Thistle chief executive in May 2018, succeeding

Ian Maxwell Ian Maxwell (born 1956) is a British businessman and co-founder of the think tank Combating Jihadist Terrorism. In the 1990s, Maxwell was acquitted of charges of criminal financial malpractice relating to the business practices of his father, pu ...

. Following the sacking of

Alan Archibald Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish association football, football coach and former player, who is currently a first-team coach at Heart of Midlothian F.C., Hearts. Archibald, who played as a Defender (football)#Centre back, def ...

in October 2018, Britton was made caretaker manager. He has also worked as a criminal defence lawyer.Profile
scotsman.com; retrieved 31 October 2014.

Honours

;Livingston *

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 ...

: 2000–01 ;Partick Thistle *

: 2001–02

References

External links

* * * (Missing Stranraer stats) {{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Gerry 1970 births Living people Scottish men's footballers Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Celtic F.C. players Reading F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Livingston F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Stranraer F.C. players Scottish football managers Partick Thistle F.C. managers Stranraer F.C. managers Scottish Premier League managers People educated at Turnbull High School Scottish Football League managers Berwick Rangers F.C. players Men's association football forwards Partick Thistle F.C. non-playing staff