Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional

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 ...

manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a

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 ...

and won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,St Mirren as a 17-year-old, the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

with

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

and all the Scottish domestic honours with Celtic. In his international career, Lambert earned 40 caps for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and played in the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

finals. Lambert had success managing Wycombe Wanderers. After a short spell managing Colchester United, he guided Norwich City into the English

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 ...

with successive promotions in 2009–10 and 2010–11. After keeping Norwich in the Premier League in 2011–12, he managed Aston Villa for three seasons. Lambert was appointed Blackburn Rovers manager in November 2015, before leaving the club in May 2016. Lambert became head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2016 but was dismissed at the end of the season. Lambert was appointed manager of Stoke City in January 2018, but he was unable to prevent relegation to the Championship and left the club soon afterwards. 6 years after leaving Norwich, Lambert became manager of fellow East Anglia club Ipswich Town in October 2018. He was unable to prevent Ipswich's relegation to League One, and left the club in February 2021 after failing to mount a promotion challenge.

Club career

St Mirren

Lambert was born 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 ...

, but moved to

Linwood, Renfrewshire Linwood () is a town in Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland, west of Glasgow. It is about northeast of Johnstone and west of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley close to the Black Cart Water and the A737 road. Etymology Linwood ...

when he was a child. He played for Linwood Rangers Boys' Club before entering the professional game with St Mirren in 1985. With St Mirren, the 17-year-old Lambert won his first senior winner's medal courtesy of the 1987 Scottish Cup Final; ''Saints'' beat favourites and that season's UEFA Cup Finalists Dundee United, in what turned out to be the last time the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Alex Smith had to send the youngster home early from the alcohol-fuelled celebrations. Lambert played with St Mirren for eight years, experiencing relegation from the top tier in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Motherwell

In September 1993, Lambert was signed by Tommy McLean for

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 ...

for a fee of £250,000 in a transfer move that saw Jimmy Gardner move to St Mirren. The club finished in 3rd place at the end of the 1993–94 season in the Scottish Premier League. With Alex McLeish replacing McLean for the 1994–95 season, Lambert and Motherwell went one place better finishing league runners-up, the club's highest finish since 1933–34. The club also qualified for a place in the 1994–95 UEFA Cup. After eliminating Faroese opponents, HB Tórshavn, Motherwell were drawn against German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

, managed by Ottmar Hitzfeld. In the away first leg, Motherwell lost to a solitary goal by Andreas Möller in the 58th minute. In the second leg, Motherwell were still in the contest, until Karl-Heinz Riedle scored twice in ten minutes during the second half. Lambert won the club's Supporters Player of the Year, while he was also shortlisted for the SPFA Players' Players award in 1996. He left Motherwell at the end of the 1995–96 season under freedom of contract, as new rules were implemented following the Bosman ruling.

Borussia Dortmund

After leaving Motherwell, an agent arranged trial spells for Lambert with PSV Eindhoven and

. PSV did not sign Lambert as they were looking for a winger, but he signed for Dortmund after a pre-season tournament. Dortmund manager Ottmar Hitzfeld had previously been impressed by Lambert when the club had played Motherwell in the 1994–95 UEFA Cup. Portuguese international Paulo Sousa had also signed for Dortmund that summer. Sousa had been expected to play in Lambert's position, but Lambert performed well in early Bundesliga matches and kept a place in the team. Dortmund had been the German champions in the previous two seasons, but struggled to keep pace with Bayern Munich in 1996–97, eventually finishing third in the Bundesliga. In the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League, though, Dortmund progressed through the group stage as runners-up. They then beat Auxerre and

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 ...

to reach the Champions League final, against Juventus. He had scored one goal during the group stage, the first in a 2–2 draw at Widzew Łódź. His performance in the semi-final elimination of

, when Dortmund were missing several key players due to injuries, was later praised in the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

of United midfielder Roy Keane. Lambert played in the Champions League final as a defensive midfielder, quelling the influence of Juve's French playmaker

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

. Lambert's cross also set up Karl-Heinz Riedle's opening goal as Dortmund won 3–1. His contribution has since been lauded as a Man of the Match performance. He became the first British person to win the European Cup with a non-UK team, and the first British person to win the tournament since its reformation as the Champions League in 1992. It was announced the Champions League group stage game on 5 November 1997 against

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, his 23rd in European club competitions, would be Lambert's last before he returned to Scotland. His departure was prompted by his son suffering a febrile seizure after the Champions League final: having previously experienced this when living in Scotland, the family decided to return home to be closer to relatives. He was given a rousing send off by the Dortmund fans, and reciprocated with a banner he had prepared thanking the Dortmund fans for their support. Lambert scored one domestic league goal during his time with Dortmund, against Bayer Leverkusen.

Celtic

In November 1997, after just over a year playing in the Bundesliga, appearing in 44 matches, he was signed by Wim Jansen for Celtic for a fee in the region of £2 million. Lambert made his debut on 8 November 1997 when he came on as a substitute in a league match at Ibrox against Rangers. Three weeks later on 30 November 1997, Lambert picked up his first winner's medal as a Celtic player when he came on as a late substitute in Celtic's 3–0 win over Dundee United 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 ...

Final. Thereafter, Lambert became a regular in the starting line-up and scored from 25 yards in a 2–0 win over Rangers at

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

in the New Year game. Lambert went on to help the Scottish giants win the championship that season, their first in ten years, halting Rangers' run of nine consecutive titles which had previously equalled the total achieved by Celtic in the

Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...

era. During his seven seasons with Celtic, he won four Scottish Premier League titles, two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...

s and was Scottish Football Writer's Player of the Year and was shortlisted SPFA Player of the Year again in 2002 Lambert captained the side that reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

; his team were drawing 2–2 after 90 minutes but after having a man sent off in extra time, conceded a third and decisive goal to

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

International career

During Lambert's international career, he was involved in a memorable Under-21 game against Germany. The young Scots drew 1–1 in Bochum in the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship quarter-finals. In the return leg at Pittodrie, Germany were two up after 40 minutes before Duncan Ferguson set up Ray McKinnon to pull one back before half-time. Germany scored a third on the hour mark to seemingly put the tie out of reach. However, on 68 minutes, Gerry Creaney headed past Stefan Klos before Lambert himself equalised ten minutes later. Alex Rae scored two minutes from time to clinch the game 4–3. As a full

international, Lambert won 40 caps, scoring one goal. In the latter part of his international career, he captained the side 15 times. His international debut came whilst at Motherwell and awarded by Craig Brown in the 1995 Kirin Cup against host country,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Lambert played a second game in the tournament three days later against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Whilst at Dortmund and during the

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations. Each confederation — the Asian Football Confederation, AFC (Asia), Confederation of African Football, CAF (Afr ...

campaign Lambert started to appear as a regular. After missing the opening game of the campaign against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Lambert appeared as a 46th-minute substitute in the 2–0 win in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

in October 1996. He was also in the starting line-up for the next fixture against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

four days later, but a scheduling dispute meant the home team did not adhere to a quickly-rearranged afternoon kick-off time, and the match was abandoned at kick-off with no caps awarded to the Scotland players (the fixture was re-arranged for the following February, but Lambert was an unused substitute). He was again a substitute in the next qualifier which was played, coming on in the 46th minute of a 1–0 home win against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. For his next cap, he was promoted to the starting line-up for a 2–0 home victory in the qualifier against Austria. Lambert's only defeat of the campaign was the 2–1 reversal in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

against Sweden before two wins against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and a second 2–0 win against Latvia clinched qualification. He played in all three of Scotland's matches at the

, a 2–1 defeat against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the tournament's opening match, a 1–1 draw against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and a 3–0 defeat against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Lambert was part of the Scotland side that won away against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in April 1999 with the goal scored by Don Hutchison. Lambert and Scotland qualified for a play-off place in the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying campaign, but Lambert missed the play-offs against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

due to suffering an injury in the Old Firm game played the weekend before. Craig Brown cited Lambert's absence as crucial to England's progression at Scotland's expense, since he intended to deploy Lambert directly against Paul Scholes, scorer of both England goals. He scored his only goal for Scotland on 7 September 2002, in a Euro 2004 qualifier against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, which ended in a 2–2 draw. Lambert was awarded Man of the Match in a 1–1 draw with Germany in June 2003. His final cap came in a 2–1 defeat against Germany in September 2003. The match was played in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, where he had achieved great success during his club career. On 15 November 2009, he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

Managerial career

Livingston

After studying for football coaching qualifications in 2005, Lambert landed his first managerial job with Livingston on 1 June 2005, assisted by Norrie McWhirter. Although he had not intended to play for his new club, Lambert registered as a player in late August 2005 to cover for any injury shortages. His tenure ended in February 2006 when he resigned after only winning two league games since starting the job.

Wycombe Wanderers

Lambert was appointed manager of English team Wycombe Wanderers on 30 June 2006. He led Wycombe to the League Cup semi-finals after defeating

sides

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and Charlton Athletic F.C., Charlton Athletic. The semi-final tie, against Premier League champions Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, saw Wycombe hold Chelsea to a 1–1 draw at Adams Park before losing the away leg. This was the first time in over 30 years a fourth-tier team had reached that stage of the League Cup. Lambert resigned as Wycombe manager on 20 May 2008 following the club's elimination from the League Two play-offs by Stockport County F.C., Stockport County.

Colchester United

On 9 October 2008, he was appointed as manager of Football League One, League One team Colchester United F.C., Colchester United to succeed Geraint Williams, before winning his first game 2–1 at Stockport County F.C., Stockport County. Despite occasionally threatening to flirt with the League One play-offs, the U's eventually finished mid-table in Lambert's first season. On 8 August 2009, he began the 2009–10 season with an opening day 7–1 win over Norwich City. Lambert left the Essex club for Norwich shortly afterwards.

Norwich City

Lambert became the new manager of Norwich City on 18 August 2009, replacing Bryan Gunn, who was dismissed by the club shortly after the 7–1 home defeat to Lambert's Colchester. Lambert's new side would go on to win the return fixture 5-0 on their way to the League 1 title, earning promotion to the Championship, in April 2010. On 1 June 2010, he signed an improved contract with Norwich after it was confirmed Colchester United were entitled to £425,000 in compensation, in addition to Norwich City being fined £75,000, with a further £125,000 suspended for two years. Norwich's form from their 2009–10 promotion campaign continued into the 2010–11 in English football, 2010–11 season, which saw them gain a second successive promotion – becoming the first team to achieve a second successive promotion at this level since Manchester City F.C., Manchester City 1999–2000 in English football, 11 years earlier. During Lambert's first two seasons in charge, Norwich did not suffer two successive defeats in the league in the same season. In January 2011, Norwich refused to allow Burnley F.C., Burnley permission to try to secure Lambert as their new manager, following the dismissal of Brian Laws. The Norwich statement read, in part, "The club will fight tooth and nail to retain the services of Paul Lambert and his team during this critical period of the season and whilst they remain employed under a long-term contract". On 2 May 2011, Lambert and Norwich secured promotion to the

after a win over Portsmouth F.C, Portsmouth, taking the second automatic spot with one game to spare. Lambert signed a new contract to extend his stay with the Norfolk club. He was inducted into the Norwich City Hall of Fame in March 2012. Following Norwich's survival in the Premier League in the 2011–12 season, Lambert offered his resignation on 31 May 2012, but the club declined it.

Aston Villa

2012–13 season

On 2 June 2012, Lambert was confirmed as the new manager of Aston Villa replacing Alex McLeish, who was dismissed two weeks earlier. Lambert's first competitive match as Aston Villa manager came on the opening day of the Premier League season on 18 August 2012, a 1–0 defeat to newly promoted West Ham United F.C., West Ham United at Boleyn Ground, Upton Park. His first Premier League win came on 15 September 2012, a 2–0 victory against Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City at Villa Park. He was handed a one-match touchline ban on 21 November 2012 for comments relating to a Penalty kick (association football), penalty decision in Villa's defeat to Manchester City. On his first return to Carrow Road, Lambert received a mixed reception from the Norwich fans on 11 December 2012, in a 2012–13 Football League Cup#Quarter-finals, League Cup quarter-final which his Villa team won 4–1. On 23 December 2012, Villa were defeated 8–0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (stadium), Stamford Bridge, the club's heaviest ever defeat in top-flight football. This was followed by consecutive home defeats, with Villa losing 4–0 to Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur and 3–0 to Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic, leading to increased pressure on Lambert's position. On 22 January 2013, Villa played Bradford City A.F.C., Bradford City in the second leg of the League Cup 2012–13 Football League Cup#Semi-finals, semi-final at Villa Park, having lost the first round tie 3–1 at Valley Parade. The final score on the night was a 2–1 win for Villa, leaving an aggregate score of 4–3 to Bradford. Lambert kept his job despite the poor run as the team flirted with the relegation places continuously over the next few months. Lambert did however manage to get Villa to record back-to-back wins for the first time since May 2011, as they defeated fellow relegation rivals Reading F.C., Reading and Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers. He then oversaw the club's biggest victory since 2008, as Villa thrashed Sunderland A.F.C., Sunderland 6–1. Villa finished 15th with the youngest starting eleven in the Premier League, leading to praise from pundit Alan Hansen, who said that Lambert was "a contender for Manager of the Season." Highlights of the season included Lambert's summer acquisition of star striker Christian Benteke, the introduction of Villa's Player of the Season, goalkeeper Brad Guzan, reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and securing Villa's place in the Premier League for the 2013–14 season.

2013–14 season

Lambert's Aston Villa side began the season brightly, with a 3–1 win over Arsenal F.C., Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on 17 August. Towards the end of 2013, the performances worsened greatly, especially home form, and Lambert was criticised by many fans and pundits for putting out a counter-attacking side with no plan B. Possession stats were biased towards the opposition in many games, including at home to Swansea; Villa had less than 30 percent of possession in a game which ended 1–1. In January 2014, Lambert made headlines by claiming that "many Premier League clubs could do without the distraction of the FA Cup if they were being honest." Aston Villa subsequently lost 2–1 at home to Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United, a team two divisions below them, marking the fourth consecutive year that Lambert has been eliminated from the FA Cup by lower league opposition. Lambert subsequently defended his comments, claiming they were "taken out of context."

2014–15 season

Lambert's third season in charge saw a different approach in the transfer market, with him opting to buy players with experience as opposed to the previous seasons, where the club would sign young prospects. Aston Villa started off well, with a 1–0 victory over Stoke City. This was then followed by a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United, a 2–1 win over Hull City A.F.C., Hull City and a 1–0 victory over Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. During this time, the new back four of Alan Hutton, Ron Vlaar, Philippe Senderos and Aly Cissokho was praised by Lambert after gaining three clean sheets out of a possible four, whilst gaining ten points out of an available 12. After Villa's good start to the season, however, they then went on to have a five-game long goal drought, losing to Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton F.C., Everton and QPR before scoring in a 2–1 loss at Villa Park to Tottenham. Villa then went on to gain some valuable points, drawing 0–0 with West Ham and 1–1 against Southampton F.C., Southampton. They then won 1–0 against Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, courtesy of a Christian Benteke goal, followed with a 2–1 victory over Leicester City F.C., Leicester City at Villa Park. On 11 February 2015, Villa announced they had parted company with Lambert after a 2–0 loss at Hull, leaving the club 18th in the Premier League table. His departure also meant that the top flight had no Scottish manager, for the first time in 30 years. On 14 February, Tim Sherwood was announced as his successor.

Blackburn Rovers

Lambert was appointed manager of Football League Championship, Championship club Blackburn Rovers on 15 November 2015 on a two-and-a-half-year deal, with the club in 16th place following the dismissal of Gary Bowyer. Lambert secured Championship safety for Blackburn with a 2–2 draw against Bristol City on 23 April 2016. Blackburn ended the season with two consecutive wins, finishing in 15th place. The club confirmed that Lambert had activated a release clause in his contract, and would step down as manager after their last match of the 2015–16 season on 7 May 2016.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 5 November 2016, Lambert was appointed head coach of Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers, taking over with the team in 19th place. The team achieved an upset victory in the fourth round of the 2016–17 FA Cup, winning 2–1 against Liverpool F.C., Liverpool at Anfield. The team finished the 2016–17 EFL Championship season in 15th place. On 30 May 2017 the club announced that they and Lambert had "agreed to part company following a football review".

Stoke City

On 15 January 2018, Lambert was appointed manager of

club Stoke City, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Potters, and officially took up post the following day. He joined Stoke with the club in the relegation zone, having dismissed previous manager Mark Hughes due to a poor run of form. His first game in charge was a 2–0 victory over relegation rivals Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town to move them out of the relegation places. His only permanent signing in charge was the deadline day signing of Senegalese midfielder Badou Ndiaye from Turkish club Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray for a fee of £14 million. Furthermore, the club completed the signing of Kostas Stafylidis on loan from FC Augsburg until the end of the season. Lambert was unable to prevent Stoke's continued decline and relegation to the EFL Championship, Championship, leaving the club via mutual agreement in May 2018 after four months in charge.

Ipswich Town

Six years after leaving Norwich, on 27 October 2018 Lambert was appointed manager of EFL Championship, Championship club Ipswich Town. He was the first ever-person to manage both East Anglian derby, Norwich and Ipswich. He joined his new team on a contract until the summer of 2021, with the side bottom of the Championship. On 10 February 2019, Lambert was sent off following a touchline bust-up with the opposing team staff during a game against former club and rivals Norwich City. He was subsequently fined and handed a two match touchline ban by the FA. Lambert later stated he did not regret his actions that led to his dismissal. Lambert was ultimately unable to keep Ipswich in the division, as relegation was confirmed on 13 April 2019. This ended Ipswich's 17-year stay in the Championship, resulting in them playing third-tier football for the first time since 1957. Despite the team's relegation, Lambert remained in charge and led Ipswich to the top of the League One table during the first month of the 2019–20 season, winning 14 league points out of possible 18 during August. He won the EFL League One Manager of the Month award for August 2019. On 1 January 2020, Lambert signed a new five-year contract with the club until 2025. Despite a strong start, Lambert failed to achieve promotion with the team finishing in 11th after the league was determined on a points-per-game basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 27 October 2020, he was given a one-match touchline ban for directing foul and abusive language towards referee Kevin Johnson. He was also fined £1,000. Lambert tested positive for COVID-19 in December 2020, which resulted in the postponement of two league matches. Despite winning his two last games in charge against Hull City and Doncaster Rovers, Lambert left Ipswich by mutual consent on 28 February 2021 after failing to mount a promotion push during the season due to inconsistent form.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lambert goal.''

Managerial record

Honours

Player

St Mirren *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Borussia Dortmund *

: 1996–97 UEFA Champions League, 1996–97 Celtic *Scottish Football League Premier Division, Scottish Premier Division/ Scottish Premier League: 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division, 1997–98, 2000–01 Scottish Premier League, 2000–01, 2001–02 Scottish Premier League, 2001–02, 2003–04 Scottish Premier League, 2003–04 *

: 1997–98 Scottish League Cup, 1997–98, 2000–01 Scottish League Cup, 2000–01 *UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup runner-up: 2003 UEFA Cup Final, 2002–03 Scotland U21 * UEFA Under-21 European Championship, UEFA under-21 Euros: Bronze 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, 1992 * Toulon Tournament: Bronze 1991 Individual *Motherwell F.C.#Player of the Year, Motherwell Player of the Year: 1996 *SFWA Footballer of the Year: 2002 * Scottish Football Hall of Fame: Inducted 2009 * Scottish Football League monthly awards, Scottish Football League Player of the Month: January 1998

Manager

Norwich City *Football League One: 2009–10 Football League One, 2009–10 *Football League Championship runner-up: 2010–11 Football League Championship, 2010–11 Individual *EFL League One Manager of the Month, Football League One Manager of the Month: January 2009, December 2009, January 2010, August 2019, September 2020 *Football League One Manager of the Year: 2009–10 *EFL Championship Manager of the Month, Football League Championship Manager of the Month: March 2017 *Football League Championship Manager of the Year: 2010–11 *List of Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame members, Norwich City FC Hall of Fame

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Paul 1969 births Living people Footballers from Renfrewshire Scottish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders People educated at Linwood High School St Mirren F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Borussia Dortmund players Celtic F.C. players Livingston F.C. players Scottish Football League players Bundesliga players Scottish Premier League players UEFA Champions League–winning players Scottish Football League representative players Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's B international footballers Scotland men's international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Scottish football managers Livingston F.C. managers Wycombe Wanderers F.C. managers Colchester United F.C. managers Norwich City F.C. managers Aston Villa F.C. managers Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers Stoke City F.C. managers Ipswich Town F.C. managers English Football League managers Premier League managers Scottish Premier League managers Footballers from Glasgow People from Linwood, Renfrewshire