Jimmy Nicholl
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James Michael Nicholl (born 28 December 1956) is a Northern Irish 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 ...
who played for several clubs, including
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and Rangers. He was mainly a
right-back 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 ...
but could also play in other defensive roles. Nicholl won a total of 73 international
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, scoring one goal. After retiring as a player, he moved into coaching and management. He enjoyed success as manager of Raith Rovers, winning the 1994–95 Scottish League Cup. In recent years he has worked as an assistant coach for several Scottish clubs, including
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
,
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 ...
, Hibernian,
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...
, Rangers and
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 ...
.


Early life

Jimmy Nicholl was born in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, Canada, to Northern Irish parents. His family moved back to Northern Ireland when he was 3. Nicholl grew up on the Rathcoole estate on the outskirts of
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. After he began his football career as an apprentice with
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
, the club arranged for Nicholl's family to relocate to England, to avoid the unrest caused by
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in Northern Ireland.


Playing career

Nicholl started his career as a junior player at
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. His senior career started in 1974. He helped the club win the 1977 FA Cup Final and collected a runners-up medal in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. In 1981, he left the club after scoring five goals, joining
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
on a permanent contract after a loan spell, and playing 32 games in one season before moving to Toronto Blizzard in Canada, scoring 11 goals in 77 games over the next two years before signing for Rangers. In 1984, he returned to the English league to sign for
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
where he stayed until their relegation from the First Division in 1986, then returning to Rangers for three years, helping them win two Scottish league titles in the process. After leaving Rangers, he signed 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 1989 before moving to a
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 ...
role at Raith Rovers, having originally joined them on 27 November 1990. Following his time at Rovers, Nicholl played one game for Bath City in February 1996, a 3–0 defeat at home to Macclesfield Town. He was sent off after 55 minutes and never played for the club again.


Coaching career

Nicholl had great success as manager of Raith Rovers, winning the 1994–95 Scottish League Cup and the 1994–95 Scottish First Division championship. Due to their League Cup triumph, Raith qualified for the
1995–96 UEFA Cup The 1995–96 UEFA Cup was the 25th season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was won by German club Bayern Munich on aggregate over Bordeaux of France. Girondins de Bordeaux went to the final all the way ...
and reached the second round, where they were eliminated by eventual winners
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
. Having lost the first leg to Bayern 2–0 at Easter Road, Raith took a 1–0 lead at the Olympiastadion thanks to a goal by Danny Lennon. Bayern recovered to win 2–1 on the night and 4–1 on aggregate. On 28 February 1996, Nicholl was appointed manager of
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
, who just over two months earlier had been top of Division One but were now sliding down the table. He was unable to arrest the decline and Millwall slipped into Division Two on the last day of the season. He remained at Millwall until the following February, and six months after that returned to Raith Rovers. His second spell at Raith lasted two years, and ended on 14 June 1999 after he had failed to get them back into the top flight. A 28-day spell as manager of Dunfermline Athletic followed later in 1999, and he later served as assistant manager to
Jimmy Calderwood James Calderwood (28 February 1955 – 19 January 2025) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a pl ...
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 ...
. In May 2004, Nicholl followed Calderwood when he took over as manager at
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, again serving as his assistant until the two parted company with the club in May 2009. He resumed his partnership with Calderwood at
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 ...
in 2010. Nicholl was appointed manager of
Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...
in June 2010, but he left Cowdenbeath at the end of the 2010–11 season after they were relegated from the First Division. Nicholl was then appointed assistant manager of
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 ...
for a second time, by Kenny Shiels on 15 June 2011. Kilmarnock won the 2011–12 Scottish League Cup under Shiels and Nicholl, but Shiels was sacked by Kilmarnock in June 2013. Nicholl then decided to accept the offer of assistant manager at Hibernian. After manager Pat Fenlon resigned on 1 November, Nicholl was appointed caretaker manager. Nicholl left Hibernian soon after their new management team was recruited. After leaving Hibernian, Nicholl returned to
Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...
for a second stint as their manager. He led the Blue Brazil to avoid relegation via the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
play-offs in the 2013–14 season beating local rivals
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 the two-legged final. He led the side to the
Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882†...
that season. However a very difficult season followed in 2014–15, which included a joint-record 10–0 defeat to eventual champions Heart of Midlothian. The following week, Cowdenbeath managed to draw 0–0 with Rangers. The club was relegated to League One on the last day, after which Nicholl resigned as manager. While still at Cowdenbeath, Nicholl had also become assistant manager to Michael O'Neill with the Northern Ireland national team in March 2015. He was appointed as assistant to new
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...
manager Paul Hartley in October 2017, while also continuing in his role with Northern Ireland. He became assistant manager at Rangers in January 2018, assisting
Graeme Murty Graeme Stuart Murty (born 13 November 1974) is an English-born Scottish professional football coach and former player. He made 437 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, playing for York City, Reading, Charlton Athletic and Sou ...
. After Murty left Rangers on 1 May, Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson were placed in interim charge until the appointment of
Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,St Mirren as their first team coach in November 2018. He then moved 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 ...
in May 2019, assisting
James McPake James McPake (born 24 June 1984) is a professional association football, football coach and former player, who was most recently the manager of Dunfermline Athletic F.C., Dunfermline Athletic. McPake played for Livingston F.C., Livingston, Gree ...
. Nicholl was released from the club in June 2020. On 28 June 2020, Nicoll became assistant manager of
Northern Ireland national football team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in men's international association football. From 1882 to 1950, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland ...
.


Honours


Player

Manchester United *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
: 1976–77 Rangers *
Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
: 1986–87, 1988–89 *
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 ...
: 1983–84, 1986–87, 1987–88 Raith Rovers *
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 ...
: 1992–93 *
Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882†...
: 1990–91, 1992–93


Manager

Raith Rovers *
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 ...
: 1992–93, 1994–95 *
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 ...
: 1994–95 *
Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882†...
: 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99 Cowdenbeath *
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
play-offs: 2013–14 *
Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882†...
: 2013–14


Managerial statistics


References


External links


Nicholl's international record
* /
Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2024, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

NASL Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholl, Jimmy 1956 births Soccer players from Hamilton, Ontario Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Association football managers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers Canadian men's soccer players Canadian soccer coaches Canadian people of Northern Ireland descent 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football defenders Men's association football utility players Bath City F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. managers Dunfermline Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. managers Expatriate men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Canada Hibernian F.C. non-playing staff Kilmarnock F.C. non-playing staff Living people Manchester United F.C. players Millwall F.C. managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Raith Rovers F.C. managers Raith Rovers F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League players Sunderland A.F.C. players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Falkirk F.C. non-playing staff St Mirren F.C. non-playing staff Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Dundee F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen