Steven John Pressley (born 11 October 1973) is a Scottish professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game be ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He was most recently the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

. Pressley had a long playing career, playing for Celtic and Rangers and making over 100 league appearances for both

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...

and over 250 for Hearts. Pressley captained the Hearts side that won the 2006 Scottish Cup Final, and made 32 appearances for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. As a player, Pressley was described as hard-working and exhibiting leadership. After retiring as a player, Pressley was assistant manager of

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large 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 ...

, before being appointed manager in February 2010. Pressley also served as an assistant manager to

George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came wh ...

while Burley was manager of

. He moved to League One side

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

in March 2013, but was dismissed in February 2015. He has since managed

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed ...

, Cypriot club

Pafos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city o ...

and

Club career

Rangers

Pressley was born in

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...

, Moray, and was an

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

fan in childhood. He started his career at Rangers. During his time at Ibrox, he won a

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

Coventry City

Pressley was transferred to English side

in October 1994 for £600,000. His one goal for Coventry came against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Dundee United

Pressley returned to Scotland in July 1995 with

, who paid a transfer fee of £750,000. He helped Dundee United to get

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

Premier Division Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...

in his first season. This was followed by a third-place finish in the 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division.

Hearts

His influential style of play and his organisational skills were noticed by Hearts

Jim Jefferies Geoff James Nugent (born 14 February 1977), known professionally as Jim Jefferies, is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer who holds dual Australian and American citizenship. He created and starred in the American FX sitcom ''Legit'' (2 ...

, and he was signed by the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

club on a Bosman free transfer in 1998. Pressley was appointed club captain by

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently a full-time advisor to the board of directors at Highland Football League club Brechin City. During his playing career ...

in 2001–02. Only Bobby Parker has held the Hearts captaincy for a longer period. Pressley was captain when the team beat

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. Vf ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

and

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

in European matches. He helped Hearts finish second in the league in 2005/06, third on three occasions, as well as reaching the Scottish Cup and

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

semi-finals. Pressley led Hearts to success in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final, albeit on a penalty shoot-out after the club were held to a 1–1 draw with Gretna after extra time. Pressley scored the first penalty for Hearts, who eventually won 4–2. His enrolment into the Hearts Hall of Fame highlights the status that he enjoyed at Tynecastle. He acted as a spokesman for the playing squad in response to the various controversies affecting the club under the ownership of Vladimir Romanov. On 27 October 2006, Pressley led a press conference, flanked by fellow internationals

Craig Gordon Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team. Gordon started his ...

and

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 Championship side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts an ...

, announcing that there was "significant unrest in the Hearts dressing room" following majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov's most recent comments. Romanov stated that he would sell players if Hearts failed to beat Dunfermline Athletic, a match which ended 1–1. However, this game was played out in front of a sell-out crowd who showed their vocal backing for Pressley, Gordon and Hartley. Pressley was then absent from the Hearts squad to face

on 13 November 2006 and he had been reportedly stripped of the captaincy. A month later, on 9 December 2006, it was confirmed that Pressley and Hearts had parted company and was reported to be attracting the interest of several clubs.

Celtic

Despite reported interest from

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

, it was revealed in December 2006 that Pressley had been signed as a free agent by Celtic until May 2008. Having previously played for Rangers, he joined players such as Maurice Johnston, Alfie Conn and Kenny Miller in crossing the Old Firm divide. He made his Celtic debut on 2 January 2007 against Kilmarnock and then returned to Tynecastle as stand-in Celtic

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

on 14 January. He scored his first competitive goal for Celtic against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the fifth round of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, He made fewer appearances during the 2007–08 season, and he left the club after his contract expired in the summer.

Randers

After his release from Celtic, Pressley continued to train with Celtic Reserves to keep his fitness up and joined

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at T ...

, then

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

on trial but failed to win a contract at both clubs. Then, on 1 September 2008 he signed for

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each y ...

on a four-month contract, ending in December. Although he had the eagerness to play in a foreign country throughout his career, this was the first offer he had received from abroad. He said "''The prospect of playing abroad excited me and it's an ideal situation for both parties. I had a couple of opportunities to go to England, but I wanted to play abroad and experience a new challenge''". Pressley made his debut in a 1–1 draw against AC Horsens on 14 September and played the full 90 minutes of the match.

Falkirk

Pressley's contract with Randers expired in December 2008, the beginning of the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each y ...

's Winter break, and he was linked with a move to a number of clubs in Switzerland as well as the manager's job at

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

in his homeland, but joined

on 13 January 2009 on a short-term contract until the end of the 2008/09 season. He made his debut for the club in a 3–1 defeat to Rangers at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . ...

on 18 January, and was an unused substitute in a 1–0 defeat to the same opposition in the

2009 Scottish Cup Final The 2009 Scottish Cup Final was the final of the 124th season of the main domestic football cup competition in Scotland, the Scottish Cup. The final was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 30 May 2009. The match was contested by Rangers, who we ...

on 30 May.

International career

Pressley was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

32 times by

. He is the most capped Scottish player at Hearts surpassing the record of 29 caps held by Bobby Walker. He made his debut in 2000 against

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and European champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. His appearance against Lithuania on 6 September 2006 ensured that he surpassed Bobby Walker's 91-year-old record as Hearts' most capped Scotland player. He was sent off in what proved to be his last appearance for Scotland, a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

on 11 October 2006. Pressley served a two-match ban following the red card, which gave Stephen McManus the chance to step up to the international fold. McManus performed very well in Pressley's absence and ended up keeping him out of the starting eleven even after Pressley's suspension ended. Pressley retired from international football in February 2008 when he was named as Scotland's assistant coach, but continued to play club football until his official

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in June 2009.

Management career

Hearts (caretaker)

Pressley had his first experience as a manager while still a player when he took charge of Heart of Midlothian as joint (caretaker) manager for two games at the end of the 2004–05 SPL season, losing both of the games.

Scotland

Along with

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 cap ...

, Pressley was named as an assistant to the Scotland manager

in February 2008. Pressley was Hearts' captain, and club captain, under Burley during his short reign at Tynecastle. Pressley was in the process of sitting his UEFA pro licence. He left his post as Scotland assistant coach in September 2009, following the country's unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign.

Falkirk

During the summer of 2009, Pressley was appointed as an assistant manager at Falkirk, following his retirement as a player. Following the resignation of manager

Eddie May Edwin Charles May (19 May 1943 – 14 April 2012) was an English football player and manager. May was born in Epping, and played for Dagenham, Southend United, Wrexham and Swansea City. The burly, affable May loomed large in the modern hist ...

on 11 February 2010, Pressley was appointed Falkirk manager on a contract until the end of the 2009–10 season. Falkirk were relegated to the First Division at the end of the 2009–10 season. Despite failing to gain promotion back to the SPL at the first attempt, Falkirk extended his contract for another year.

Coventry City

Pressley was announced as the new manager of League One side

on 8 March 2013. He took over the position from Mark Robins, who resigned to join

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. ...

. Steven Pressley won his first match in charge the following day, 2–1 away at

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an Industrial city, industrial town and unparished area in the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an es ...

. Later in March 2013, the club went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

and were deducted 10 points, dropping Coventry City from 10th to 14th in the

2012–13 Football League One The 2012–13 Football League One (referred to as the Npower Football League One for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league under its current title and twenty-first season under its current league division format. The season be ...

. Coventry City finished the season in 15th place. In the

2013–14 Football League One The 2013–14 Football League One (referred to as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons) is the tenth season of the league under its current title and twenty-first season under its current league division format. The season began on 2 August ...

season, Coventry City started with a 10-point deduction and had to play all of their home games in Northampton, 34 miles away. Despite these obstacles, the club avoided relegation and finished in 18th place, and were realistic play-off contenders before the mid-season departure of striker Leon Clarke. Following Coventry City's positive start to the 2014–15 season, speculation arose as to Pressley's future at the club, with rumours that Championship club

were interested in appointing him. Coventry returned to the Ricoh Arena in early September, winning 1–0 before a crowd of 27,500 fans. Pressley signed a four-year contract with Coventry City in September 2014. The team struggled for form following Pressley's contract renewal with a low-point coming when Coventry City were knocked out of the 2014–15 FA Cup by non-league club Worcester City. After a poor run of results in early 2015, Pressley was sacked by Coventry City on 23 February after his 100th league game in charge, with the club having dropped into the relegation zone.

Fleetwood Town

Following his departure from Coventry City, Pressley worked 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 ...

for Premier League club

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

. Pressley was appointed manager of

on 6 October 2015, replacing

Graham Alexander Graham Alexander (born 10 October 1971) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell F.C., Motherwell. In a lengt ...

. Pressley resigned as manager of Fleetwood Town on 26 July 2016.

Pafos

Pressley was appointed manager of

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus official ...

club

in February 2018.

Carlisle United

Pressley was appointed manager of

English League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

club

on 16 January 2019. Carlisle had been in sixth place in League Two when Pressley took over, but they finished outside the promotion playoffs in 11th place. Pressley then made a large number of changes to the squad during the 2019 summer transfer window. He was dismissed by the board on 13 November 2019, with the team in 19th place.

Backroom roles

On 10 May 2021, it was announced that Pressley would take up the role of Head of Individual Development at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

on 1 July 2021.

Personal life

Pressley's son

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek ( Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother ...

also became a professional footballer.

Career statistics

International appearances

Managerial record

Honours

Player

Rangers *

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994 ...

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

, 1993–94 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

Hearts * Scottish Cup: 2005–06 Celtic *

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

: 2006–07 * Scottish Cup: 2006–07 Individual * Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: February 2004

Manager

Falkirk *

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2011–12 Individual * Scottish First Division Manager of the Month (4): September 2011, October 2011 (shared), January 2012, February 2012 * League One Manager of the Month: October 2013

References

External links

Hearts profile
at London Hearts

at London Hearts {{DEFAULTSORT:Pressley, Steven 1973 births Association football central defenders Carlisle United F.C. managers Celtic F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Danish Superliga players Dundee United F.C. players Falkirk F.C. managers Falkirk F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Living people People associated with Glasgow People educated at Inverkeithing High School People from Elgin, Moray Premier League players Randers FC players Rangers F.C. players Scotland international footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Scottish footballers Scottish Premier League managers Scottish Premier League players Southampton F.C. non-playing staff English Football League managers Scottish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Pafos FC managers Sportspeople from Moray Brentford F.C. non-playing staff

Club career

Rangers

Coventry City

Dundee United

Hearts

Celtic

Randers

Falkirk

International career

Management career

Hearts (caretaker)

Scotland

Falkirk

Coventry City

Fleetwood Town

Pafos

Carlisle United

Backroom roles

Personal life

Career statistics

International appearances

Managerial record

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

External links