Stephen Glass (born 23 May 1976) 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 ...

who was most recently the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. On November 13, 2024, it was announced that the team would be ...

in the

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. 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 ...

, Glass started his career 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 ...

, with whom he won the 1995

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 ...

. In 1998, he moved to England, transferring to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Shortly after joining Newcastle, Glass made an appearance for the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. They compete in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA ...

. He joined

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in the First Division in 2001, before returning to Scotland in 2003 with Hibernian. He joined

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 2007 and was released at the end of the 2009–10 season. Glass finished his playing career with American club

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

. Glass worked as an assistant manager for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

. He then had four years in the

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

organisation, including a spell as interim head coach of their

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team. Glass was appointed Aberdeen manager in March 2021, but was sacked after less than a year in that position.

Playing career

Aberdeen

Glass started his career with Aberdeen where he was regarded as one of Scotland's brightest prospects. He broke through into the first team during a relegation struggle in the 1994–95 season, and scored goals in the final league fixture and in both legs of the subsequent

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

to maintain his club's top-division status. In Aberdeen's League Cup victory against

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 November 1995, he set up both goals in the ''Dons 2–0 success. His performance earned him the man-of-the-match award (a mountain bike) as well as a winner's medal.

Newcastle United

Glass moved to English Premier League team Newcastle United in 1998, for a fee of £650,000. In his first season at

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

, Glass made 29 appearances in all competitions, but was hampered by an injury in February. He did however recover to make a substitute appearance in the 1999 FA Cup Final against

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 ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. Injury, particularly a serious knee problem, blighted his second season in the Premiership. By the time Glass had regained full fitness, manager

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town. ...

had decided that Glass was no more than a solid squad player. Glass played a bit-part role in Newcastle's following two campaigns, making only six league starts out of a possible seventy-six, although he did score the equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with Manchester United in December 2000. He left the club at the end of the 2000–01 season.

Watford

In the summer of 2001 Glass signed for Watford on a free transfer, as part of

Gianluca Vialli Gianluca Vialli (; 9 July 1964 – 5 January 2023) was an Italian football player and manager who played as a striker. Vialli started his club career at his hometown club Cremonese in 1980, where he made 105 league appearances and scored 23 g ...

's new-look side. He was one of the more successful Vialli signings, and one of the few to be kept on by his successor, Ray Lewington. However, due to financial constraints Glass had to be released when his contract ended in the summer of 2003. Ironically, after this announcement was made he scored a stunning free-kick in Watford's victory over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Hibernian

Glass was released by Watford at the end of the 2002–03 season and then signed for Hibernian on a three-year contract. He came to Hibs at a time when the club were cutting their budget and several younger players were being introduced to the squad. Glass made his debut for Hibs in the 2–1 win over

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 ...

in August 2003 and also featured in an

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any association football, football match played between Football in Scotland, Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs), the two o ...

win over Hearts the following week. Despite flashes of his expected pedigree, Glass' first season 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 ...

was also blighted by injury, causing him to miss the

2004 Scottish League Cup Final The 2004 Scottish League Cup final was played on 14 March 2004, at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 57th Scottish League Cup. The final was contested by Hibernian and Livingston. Livingston won the match 2–0, thanks to goals ...

. His second season in Edinburgh, however, proved much more successful and his performances under new boss

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 ...

helped the club gain a

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place by finishing third in the SPL. Glass missed only two league games due to injury in 2004–05 and his presence helped hold together a Hibernian midfield which was weakened by lengthy injuries to star players Scott Brown,

Kevin Thomson Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional Association football, football coach and former player. Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (three spells), Rangers F.C., Rangers, Middlesbrough F.C., Mid ...

and Guillaume Beuzelin. Along with numerous goal assists, Glass also chipped in with two key goals in Hibernian's league campaign; the first was a volley which proved to be a winning goal against Aberdeen in December 2004, while his free-kick helped Hibs to a 2–1 over Dunfermline the following week. Glass was forced to start the 2005–06 season on the bench for Hibs. Injury to left-back David Murphy in November, however, saw him drafted in as cover and his dependable performances won him his midfield berth back after the new year. Although injuries and inconsistency thwarted Hibs bid for both a top-three finish and a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

and Hearts in 2006. He accepted Tony Mowbray's offer of a two-year contract extension in April 2006. Glass was overlooked for the vacant Hibs captaincy in favour of

Gary Caldwell Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who is the manager of Exeter City. Caldwell played for Newcastle United, Darlington, Coventry City, Derby County, Hibernian, Celtic, Wigan Athletic an ...

and then Kevin Thomson in 2005 and 2006, perhaps because manager Mowbray no longer saw him to be certain of automatic first-team selection. When Mowbray was succeeded as Hibs manager by John Collins in October 2006, Glass fell further down the pecking order.

Dunfermline Athletic

Having made only two first-team starts for Hibs during the first half of the 2006–07 season, he was allowed to move to Dunfermline Athletic to gain more regular first team football. He joined the ''Pars'' on 25 January 2007 on loan until the end of the season. After impressing Pars then-manager Stephen Kenny, Glass signed a two-year contract with the Fife club. At the start of the 2008–09 season, Glass was made

vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...

to Scott Wilson by manager Jim McIntyre and was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for the 2009-10 season. Glass suffered a knee injury early in that season and was released by Dunfermline at the end of the season. Glass then went on trial with SPL side St Mirren and came on as a substitute in their pre-season friendly with Dumbarton on 19 July 2010. St Mirren manager Danny Lennon confirmed soon afterwards, however, that he would not be following up his interest in Glass.

Carolina RailHawks

Glass was signed by Carolina RailHawks of the second division

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

on 7 March 2011. Soon afterwards, Glass injured a hip, which prompted him to retire from playing football.

International career

Having left Aberdeen for Newcastle, Glass returned to Pittodrie in October 1998, making his first and only appearance for his country's full side as a substitute in Scotland's 2–1 win over the

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. He had already appeared for the under-21 and 'B' teams.

Coaching career

Shamrock Rovers

On 13 January 2012, Glass joined Shamrock Rovers as assistant manager, working for his former Dunfermline boss Stephen Kenny. On 11 September 2012 he was put in temporary charge of Shamrock Rovers, following Kenny's dismissal as manager.

Atlanta United

After becoming an academy coach of

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

in August 2018, Glass made the move to become the head coach of the club's

side

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in MLS Next Pro, the official reserve league of MLS. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional seaso ...

on 30 January 2019. On July 27, 2020, Glass was named interim coach of Atlanta United, replacing Frank de Boer, who had departed the club by mutual agreement a few days prior. Glass returned to his role at Atlanta United 2 after Gabriel Heinze was appointed the full-time coach of the club's first-team in January 2021.

Aberdeen

Glass was appointed

manager in March 2021, succeeding

Derek McInnes Derek John McInnes (born 5 July 1971) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. He featured prominently for Greenock Morton, Rangers, West Bromwich A ...

. He was sacked by Aberdeen in February 2022, following a Scottish Cup defeat at

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 ...

. The team were in ninth place in the Premiership at the time of his departure.

Memphis 901

On 22 November 2022, Glass was named head coach for

club

. Glass remained manager of Memphis until the club folded on 13 November 2024.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Aberdeen *

: 1995–96 Newcastle 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 ...

runner-up: 1998–99 Individual * 1995 Scottish League Cup Final Man of the Match

References

External links

*
Newcastle profile
at ''Toon1892'' *
Profile and stats
at ''AFC Heritage Trust'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glass, Stephen 1976 births Living people Footballers from Dundee Men's association football midfielders Scottish men's footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players North Carolina FC players Scotland men's international footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's B international footballers Premier League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate association football managers in the Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Atlanta United 2 coaches Scottish football managers Aberdeen F.C. managers Scottish Professional Football League managers Memphis 901 FC USL Championship coaches Atlanta United FC head coaches