Mark McLaughlin (born 2 December 1975) is a Scottish 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 ...

. Since turning senior in 1999, McLaughlin has played over 100 games for both Clyde and

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 . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

. He has also played for

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 ...

and

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

Career

McLaughlin, a defender, began his career at junior club

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

before moving to Clyde in 1999.

Clyde

McLaughlin made his debut with Clyde in a 3–1 win away from home against

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 ...

. On 7 October 2000 he scored his first senior football goal away to

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They compete in as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. According to the official club hist ...

at the Recreation Park Alloa's home ground and only two weeks later he scored in a 2–2 draw against Ross County at Broadwood in the

Scottish Football League 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 ...

. In July 2002, McLaughlin had a trial with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

, which was later cancelled because he was struggling with an injury.

Hamilton

After five years at Clyde, he joined

in 2004. He was part of the 2007–08 campaign for promotion to the SPL.

Greenock Morton

After McLaughlin's contract expired at Hamilton, he rejected a new deal and decided to join the team that he has supported since childhood,

. McLaughlin was named as Morton's captain in August 2012. He was released from his Morton contract on Christmas Eve 2013. Since leaving Greenock Morton, McLaughlin says his departure left him "disappointed" because "

Kenny Shiels Kenneth Shiels (born 27 April 1956)Marshall Gillespie, ''The Northern Ireland Football Yearbook 1996/97'', UTV Books, 1996, p. 59 is a Northern Irish football manager and former player who last managed NIFL Premier Intermediate side Moyola Park ...

said to me that I maybe wasn't going to play much. That's fair enough. He then told me that Airdrieonians had come in and asked if they could take me on loan. He said Airdrie would pay half my wages and Morton would pay half my wages, but I said, 'Well, I don't want to go out on loan'.

Dumbarton

After McLaughlin was released by Morton, he signed for SPFL Championship side Dumbarton. He was given the number 5 shirt. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 win against Alloa Athletic on his third appearance.On 16 May 2014 McLaughlin signed a new one-year deal with the Sons. In January 2015 'Marko' was released by the club following a lack of game time.

Clyde

On 20 January 2015, McLaughlin signed for Clyde for a second time. He was released at the end of the 2015–16 season and returned to the juniors with

Beith Beith (locally ) is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) afte ...

. He retired in June 2018.

Personal life

McLaughlin grew up in

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...

Honours

; Arthurlie *

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...

: 1997–98 ; Clyde *

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 (SF ...

: 1999–2000 ; Hamilton Academical *

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 ...

: 2007–08 ; Beith Juniors * West Region Premiership: 2017–18 * ''Evening Times'' Champions Cup: 2017–18

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Mark 1975 births Clyde F.C. players Men's association football central defenders Hamilton Academical F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Living people Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers Scottish Premier League players Arthurlie F.C. players Footballers from Greenock Greenock Morton F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Dumbarton F.C. players Beith Juniors F.C. players Footballers from Port Glasgow