Paul McGowan (born 7 October 1987) is a Scottish 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 plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club Annan Athletic. McGowan started his career with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

club

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 ...

, but struggled to break into the first team and was sent out on loan several times. He spent the 2006–07 season with third-tier side Morton, where he won the Second Division title and received individual accolades. Having made only two appearances following his return to Celtic, he spent the second half of the 2008–09 season with

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 ...

in the SPL. He moved on loan to another SPL side, St Mirren, for the 2010–11 season, after which Celtic released him from his contract and he signed with St Mirren permanently. In December 2011 he won the SPL player of the month award, and won 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 ...

with the club in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. He joined

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 June 2014 and would become a mainstay and a key player for the side throughout his 9-year tenure there, making over 300 appearances for the ''Dark Blues''. He would join

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 ...

on loan in 2023 and would earn winner's medals for both 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 ...

and the

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

in the same season. After Dundee, McGowan spent a season with Cove Rangers.

Career

Celtic

McGowan came through the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

, at which time he was considered primarily to be a striker.

Loan to Greenock Morton

McGowan was loaned out to

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 ...

for the 2006–07 season. He played as a striker for Morton and scored a total of 16 goals in 44 competitive matches. During his spell at

Cappielow Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, w ...

, McGowan won the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

's young player of the month award for January 2007. He was the club's top scorer and received a winner's medal as Morton won the

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 ...

. He was chosen to the 'Team of the year' in the Second Division and 3rd place in the 'Player of the Year' award. Morton failed to land the player in the summer transfer window when their bid – approaching a six-figure sum – was rejected.

Return to Celtic

McGowan made his Celtic debut in a 5–0 win over

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

in September 2007, where he came on as a substitute. It was his only appearance of the season. He scored his first goal for Celtic on 7 August 2008 in a pre-season friendly against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. He had the chance to score another to win the match, but his shot hit the crossbar and the game ended 1–1. McGowan made his

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 ...

debut against

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

on 10 December 2008, as a 75th-minute substitute for

Aiden McGeady Aiden John McGeady (born 4 April 1986) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer. He was born in Scotland, and represented the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic of Ireland national team from 2004 until 2 ...

. Celtic won the match 2–0 but finished bottom of their group, and once again McGowan did not appear for the club again during that campaign.

Loan to Hamilton Academical

McGowan was loaned out to SPL side

at the beginning of the January 2009 transfer window, and started his first game with an assist for

Chris Swailes Christopher William Swailes (born 19 October 1970) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is manager of Dunston UTS. Playing career Early days Swailes was a trainee bus driver at Ipswich Town from 1989 to ...

in the 1–0 win over Ross County in the

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

, scoring from 10 yards out. At the end of the 2008–09 season, his loan spell came to an end.

Return to Celtic

In the 2009–10 season, McGowan became part of the Celtic first team squad under manager

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

. On 17 December 2009, just over a year to the day of his European bow, McGowan made his

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

debut in a 3–3 draw away to

Rapid Vienna Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English language, English, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian cham ...

; he made an impact in the 91st minute by scoring his first competitive goal for the ''Hoops'' to complete a comeback from 3–0 down to draw 3–3. On 24 January 2010, McGowan made an impressive display when he provided assists for both

Marc-Antoine Fortuné Marc-Antoine Martinien Fortuné (born 2 July 1981) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. Fortuné started his professional career at Angoulême in 1998, switching to Lille in 2002. He spent the 2 ...

and

Paddy McCourt Patrick James McCourt (born 16 December 1983) is a Northern Irish former Association football, footballer who played as a left Midfielder#Winger, winger. He started his professional career with Football League Third Division, Third Division clu ...

, as Celtic made a comeback from 1–0 down to win 4–1 against

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 ...

. On 29 April 2010, he signed a two-year contract with Celtic. Having signed the new deal, McGowan stated in May 2010 that he expected to make more appearances in the first team in the near future, but in fact he had already made his final appearance for the club the previous week.

Loan to St Mirren

In July 2010, McGowan was again sent out on loan, this time to St Mirren. He made his league debut for the club in the opening game of the 2010–11 season, a 1–1 draw against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

on 14 August 2010. He scored his first competitive goal for the ''Buddies'' in a

match against Ross County – St Mirren lost in the penalty-shootout when the tie ended 2–2 after normal time and 3–3 after extra-time. In September 2010, McGowan received a straight red card for an off-the-ball violent incident involving

Manuel Pascali Manuel Pascali (born 9 September 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or defender. He now works as a commentator for Serie A coverage on FuboTV. Pascali most famously captained Kilmarnock to a Scottis ...

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 ...

, which was spotted by the referee. He was then observed to make a rude hand gesture at opposing fans who had been taunting him. After the match, McGowan apologised for his actions, while his manager Danny Lennon stated a fine would be considered once video evidence had been reviewed. After missing one game, he made his return from suspension on 25 September and scored his first goal, in a 2–1 loss against

. In January 2011, McGowan scored the first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

of his career in a 6–1 win over

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

in a fourth round replay in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Lennon described McGowan as a "threat", who needed to rise above difficult treatment, advising him to learn from the attitude of

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. Throughout the season, he played a total of 39 matches and scored 6 goals in all competitions for St Mirren. Danny Lennon converted McGowan from a striker to a central attacking midfielder with the role of

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

during this period.

Permanent move to St Mirren

On 6 June 2011, McGowan signed a two-year deal with St Mirren, having had a successful loan spell. McGowan's first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came on the opening game of the season, in a 0–0 draw against

. In a 2–0 loss against his former club, on 28 August 2011, McGowan made a mistake when he misplaced a pass, allowing

Gary Hooper Gary Hooper (born 26 January 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Maldon & Tiptree. Hooper started his career at non-League club Grays Athletic in 2003. While there he won the 2004–05 Conference South, a ...

to score, but Lennon praised him in spite of this, while McGowan himself stated he would take full responsibility for his performance. He scored a brace in a 3–0 victory against Kilmarnock in September 2011, and netted two more on 22 October 2011 in a 3–2 loss against Hibernian. In November 2011, McGowan attracted interest from English clubs, believed to be

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. He won the Scottish Premier League player of the month award for December 2011. McGowan revealed he was surprised to receive the award, and was the first ''Saints'' player to win it since

Andy Dorman Andrew Dorman (born 1 May 1982) is a former professional footballer. During his club career, he played as a midfielder for New England Revolution, Crystal Palace and St. Mirren. Born in England, represented the Wales national team. Born i ...

in April 2009. McGowan gained plaudits for his ability to retain possession of the ball. Throughout the season, he played a total of 45 matches and scored 8 goals in all competitions for St Mirren. After scoring two goals at the outset of the 2012–13 season (in a 5–1 win over Ayr United in first round of the Scottish League Cup, and in a 3–1 loss against

on 22 September 2012), McGowan suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. While on the sideline, captain Jim Goodwin stated the club missed McGowan he was a major player. McGowan returned to the first team in mid-Decemberand went on to score a penalty against former employers Celtic in the

semi-final; St Mirren qualified for the final with an unexpected 3–2 win. Ahead of the 2013 Scottish League Cup Final, McGowan scored and provided an assist for Graham Carey in a 2–0 league win over Heart of Midlothian, and in the showpiece event itself at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

, he was named 'man of the match' in the ''Buddies'' 3–2 victory over the same opposition as the club ended its 26-year wait for silverware. After the match, McGowan told

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 ...

that he felt "very proud". A few weeks after the final, McGowan scored a penalty in a 1–1 draw against Celtic. Towards the end of the 2012–13 season, McGowan admitted that his future was uncertain, having attracted interest from English clubs, with one believed to be

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

after manager Lennon revealed he had yet to sort out his future at the club by signing a new deal. Eventually, on 3 June 2013, it was announced that McGowan had re-signed for St Mirren on a free transfer, just two days after his previous contract had expired. After signing a new contract, he cited family reasons as his basis for staying in Paisley. In the 2013–14 season, McGowan started off his season by struggling to score for the eight games, netting his first of the season on 5 October 2013, in a 2–0 win over Hearts. He scored another, as well as two assists, in a 4–3 win over

on 19 October. In the match against

, McGowan limped off where he sustained a broken toe, and later had to wear a protective mask in the fourth round replay of the Scottish Cup against Queen of the South. Despite being disciplined by the club for an incident away from football, McGowan continued to play, adding two more goals to his tally; one was against Dundee United on 15 March 2014 and the other against Hibernian on 19 April 2014, to help the club secure their future in the Scottish Premiership. After the latter match, McGowan stated he was happy to put the disciplinary incident behind him by helping the club finish the season on a high. At the end of season 2013–14, St Mirren announced that McGowan would not be offered a new contract and he was released.

Dundee

McGowan signed a two-year contract with newly promoted side

in June 2014. Upon joining Dundee, Manager

Paul Hartley Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish League One side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and C ...

stated he immediately sought to signed him once he learned he was released by St Mirren. McGowan made his Dundee debut, playing as a central midfielder, as Dundee won 4–0 against Peterhead on 2 August 2014 in the

, and then made his league debut as Dundee drew 1–1 with Kilmarnock on 9 August 2014. McGowan continued to be in the first team throughout the first half of the season until he suffered a knee injury that kept him sidelined for four weeks. He made his return to the first team in the

Dundee derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared t ...

, which Dundee lost 6–2 to

. McGowan scored his first Dundee goal in the last minute in a 1–0 win over

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 ...

on 14 February 2015. As a result of being placed on a court-imposed curfew for another incident outside football, McGowan could not be included in the matchday squad for evening kick-offs for the remainder of the season, though he was still available for afternoon games. During a League Cup group stage match against Forfar Athletic in 2016, McGowan chipped Grant Adam on the edge of the box to open the scoring in a 7–0 win for Dundee. He then scored in the opening league game of the 2016–17 season, a 3–1 win over Ross County in

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 ...

, however afterwards Dundee would go into a six-game losing streak which saw the club involved in a relegation fight. On 29 October, McGowan scored a crucial winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Hamilton. Just before Christmas he scored an equalising goal against Hearts as Dundee came from 2–0 down to win 3–2. Towards the end of the season McGowan assisted

Marcus Haber Marcus Warren Haber (born January 11, 1989) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Thai League 1 club Nongbua Pitchaya, on loan from Chonburi. Haber began his career at local club Vancouver Selects, playing fou ...

to score in a crucial match against

in a 1–0 win to help Dundee steer clear of relegation during

Neil McCann Neil Doherty McCann (born 11 August 1974) is a Scottish Association football, football pundit, former professional Association football, player and former Manager (association football), manager. He has recently worked as a pundit for BBC Scotla ...

's reign as interim manager. McGowan scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season against

in the

Dundee Derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared t ...

to win the game 2–1, beating Harry Lewis from 20 yards. He picked up his second goal of the season with another long-range strike in a 1–1 draw 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 ...

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

. While not netting for the rest of the season, McGowan was a key player in once again keeping the Dee in the Premiership. After

manager Tommy Wright confirmed his interest in signing him, McGowan signed a new one-year contract extension with Dundee with the option of a further year. McGowan remained an important piece in the 2018–19 season, but had to endure a horrible season where the club managed just five league wins all season, and only one of them being at home, en route to relegation. Despite the dismal season, McGowan managed a couple of league goals during the season, both against Hibernian. The first was a crucial equaliser 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 November during Dundee's most successful spell of the season, and the second also being an equaliser at Dens, though Dundee would eventually lose the game. As the 2019–20 season began, McGowan was given the captain's armband many times, and scored two key penalties in shootouts during Dundee's League Cup group stage matches to help them top the group. McGowan would get his scoring underway in his 200th appearance for the club, scoring the opener against

, though a late Dundee collapse would ruin the day. He went on to score the next week, away to Ayr United with what would prove to be the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory. McGowan would next find the net on 14 December, scoring against

in a 4–3 victory, and followed that up with his second goal in as many games the next week, once again netting against Partick in an away win. McGowan continued being a key player for the Dark Blues until the season was ended early due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. After the season was brought to a close, McGowan was named the winner of the Andrew De Vries Player of the Year Award for the 2019–20 season. As one of the Dundee players due to have his contract expire in June and with many club officials and players on furlough due to the pandemic, McGowan's contract was extended until July in order to give more time for discussions. McGowan signed a one-year extension with Dundee near the end of June 2020, agreeing to drop his wages significantly for the year to help the club cope better with the coronavirus crisis. In April 2021, an appearance clause in his contract triggered a further one-year extension in McGowan's contract, keeping him with Dundee until the summer of 2022. He would play a prominent role in Dundee's success in the Premiership play-offs, and helped the club gain promotion back to the Premiership. In January 2022, McGowan would once again agree a one-year contract extension, taking him into his ninth season with the club. McGowan would mark his 300th appearance for the ''Dark Blues'' in September 2022, in what would be his first for the club outside of Scotland as Dundee defeated Welsh champions

The New Saints The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, commonly known as The New Saints () or TNS FC, are an English professional football club that play in the , but are based completely within England, in Oswestry, Shropshire. They a ...

away in the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,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 ...

after joining

club

on loan until the end of the season. On 25 February, McGowan made his debut for the ''Pars'' as a substitute in an away league win against Queen of the South. He would win the Scottish League One with Dunfermline on 15 April 2023, in a 5–0 home win against Queen of the South. McGowan would score his first goal for the ''Pars'' in their final game of the season on 6 May in an away win against

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 ...

. On 1 June 2023, Dundee would confirm that McGowan had left the club after the completion of his contract.

Cove Rangers

On 24 July 2023, McGowan joined

club Cove Rangers on a one-year deal. He made his debut in a

group stage match against Livingston. McGowan scored his first goal for the ''Toonsers'' on his 36th birthday in a win against Annan Athletic. At the end of the season, Cove confirmed that McGowan would leave upon the expiry of his contract.

Annan Athletic

On 27 June 2024, McGowan joined

club Annan Athletic. McGowan made his debut for the ''Galabankies'' in a win over

in the

group stage. McGowan scored his first goal for Annan three days later against

Bonnyrigg Rose Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is a Scottish football club from the town of Bonnyrigg. Formed in 1881 and nicknamed ''the Rose'', the team plays in the , having been relegated in 2024–25. Their home ground is New Dundas Park, and they have ...

. On 14 September, McGowan grabbed his first league goal of the season with a last-minute equaliser at home to

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. ...

. On 6 June 2025 after Annan's relegation to

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

, McGowan agreed a one-year extension to remain at

Galabank Galabank is a Association football, football stadium in the town of Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Annan Athletic F.C., Annan Athletic, who have played there since 1953 ...

Personal life

In December 2013, McGowan pleaded guilty to attacking two police officers at

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

police station on 11 August. On 8 January 2014, the sheriff ordered McGowan to do a 130 hours of unpaid work and a one-year supervision order. Manager Danny Lennon believed McGowan was lucky to avoid a jail sentence. McGowan was told by Sheriff Frank Pieri ''" that the punishment was a 'direct alternative' to custody and told him to behave in future or face prison"''. As a result of this incident, McGowan was disciplined by the club. For the second time in 2014, McGowan was arrested after attacking a community support constable at Coatbridge Police station. McGowan was convicted of assault on 19 March 2015. On 15 April 2015, McGowan was spared a jail sentence, but was placed on a restriction curfew for sixteen weeks and had to wear electronic tags, meaning he could not play in midweek matches for the duration of the order as he had to be at home by 7pm each day. Following the incident, McGowan apologised for his actions and said he hoped to become a better person, having a problematic lifestyle of alcohol and gambling, while the club stood by him. McGowan is a father of a son. In the wake of his conviction in April 2015, he vowed to be a better father by putting his life on track for the sake of his son. In July 2018 McGowan was again convicted of assault, this time for spitting on a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at licensed or sanctioned venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, strip clubs and casinos. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal ag ...

outside a Dundee nightclub two months earlier after attending the club's annual awards event; he again avoided a prison sentence for the offence and was instead given a

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

order.

Career statistics

Honours

Greenock Morton *

: 2006–07 St Mirren *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Renfrewshire Cup The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest team ...

: 2010, 2011, 2012 Dundee *

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

play-offs:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Dunfermline Athletic *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual * Andrew De Vries Player of the Year: 2019–20

References

External links

Paul McGowan
Celtic FC * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Paul 1987 births Living people Footballers from Bellshill Men's association football forwards Scottish men's footballers Celtic F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Dundee F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Cove Rangers F.C. players Annan Athletic F.C. players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen