Steve Murray (born 9 October 1944) is a Scottish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played 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 ...

. He spent the majority of his career in the north-east of Scotland, with

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Murray also enjoyed success with Glasgow 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 ...

and represented

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 ...

once. He later managed

Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in . They play their home games at Station Park, in t ...

and Montrose.

Playing career

Murray began his career in the early 1960s with

, spending six years at

Dens Park Dens Park is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yards (183 metres) away. History Dundee moved to "Dens" from the ...

and picking up runners-up medals in both domestic cup competitions, making around 200 appearances in total. In 1970, he became

's record signing in a £50,000 deal, missing the 1970 Scottish Cup final due to being cup-tied but winning a solitary

cap in 1971, coincidentally in a fixture played at

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Profess ...

. Following

Martin Buchan Martin McLean Buchan (born 6 March 1949) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in Aberdeen, he played for Aberdeen, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He also played in 34 international matches for ...

's departure to

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 ...

, Murray became

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 ...

. He moved to Celtic in a £55,000 deal in May 1973 after a contractual disagreement. Murray won all three domestic competitions during his two years at

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 ...

, retiring due to a toe injury in early 1976. Murray joined

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 1979 as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

but after having

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

treatment was able to resume his playing career and made three league appearances, also appearing as a substitute in the first game of the

Scottish League Cup final The Scottish League Cup is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football, organised by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). It is considered to be the second most important domestic cup competition in Scottish football, after the S ...

that season.

Management

In 1980, Murray began his managerial career with

, but resigned one training session and three days later. He returned to management two years later with Montrose; however he left to pursue a career in banking. Murray then returned to former club Dundee United as assistant manager in July 1989. However he had a fall-out with then manager

Jim McLean James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winni ...

(a teammate in the 1967 Scottish League Cup final). Murray left before the end of the year, later winning a "substantial sum" in a court action.

Family

Murray, whose son Chris was a youth player at Dundee United, Celtic and had coaching spells with Dundee and

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

, has now retired from banking and now concentrates on his painting.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial record

Honours

;Dundee *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1963–64 *

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 ...

Runner-up: 1 :: 1967–68 ;Celtic *

Scottish League Division One The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tw ...

: 1 :: 1973–74 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1973–74, 1974–75 *

: 1 :: 1974–75 ;Dundee United *

: 1 :: 1979–80

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Steve 1944 births Footballers from Dumbarton Living people Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Dundee F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Forfar Athletic F.C. managers Montrose F.C. managers Dundee United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Scotland men's under-23 international footballers Scottish Football League managers