Paul Sturrock facts for kids

Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born October 10, 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He is often called Luggy by fans, a nickname that comes from the Scottish word lugs, meaning ears.

As a player, Sturrock spent his whole senior career with Dundee United. He played over 500 games for them between 1974 and 1989. He helped United win the Scottish Football League title in the 1982–83 season. He also won the Scottish League Cup twice, in 1979 and 1980. In 1982, he was named the SFWA Footballer of the Year, which is a big award for a player in Scotland. Paul Sturrock also played 20 times for the Scotland national team and took part in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

After his playing days, Sturrock became a manager. He started with St Johnstone in 1993. He later managed Dundee United and several English clubs. These included Plymouth Argyle, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon Town, and Southend United. He even returned to Plymouth for a second time. He was also the manager of Yeovil Town in 2015. Experts have said he was one of the best managers in the country, even though he mostly worked with clubs in lower leagues. In July 2008, Sturrock shared that he was living with Parkinson's disease. His son, Blair, also became a professional footballer.

Early Life and Youth Football

Paul Sturrock was born in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He grew up in Pitlochry, Perthshire. There, he went to local schools and played for a team called Grandtully Vale.

In 1972, he joined Vale of Atholl. During the 1972–73 season, he scored around 100 goals, which is a lot! After that, he moved to Bankfoot Athletic. In the 1973–74 season, he scored 53 goals. He had tryouts with other clubs, but on July 1, 1974, he signed with Dundee United. The manager at the time, Jim McLean, brought him to the club.

Playing Career

Paul Sturrock made his first appearance for Dundee United in a European Cup Winners' Cup match on September 18, 1974. His first league game was on December 28, 1974, as a substitute against Motherwell.

Early Years at Dundee United

In his first season, he played 12 league games and scored 6 goals. His first goal for Dundee United was against Rangers on April 5, 1975. Dundee United finished fourth in the league that year. In the 1976–77 season, Sturrock played in all 36 league games and scored 15 goals. He was the top scorer for the club that year.

Winning the League Title

The 1982–83 season was a very special one for Dundee United and Paul Sturrock. The team won the Scottish League Championship, losing only four league games all season. Sturrock scored 8 goals in 28 games that season, helping his team to this big win. He also set up a key goal in the final league game against Dundee.

End of Playing Days

Sturrock's playing career ended in 1989. His last goal for United was on April 8, 1989, in a 2-1 win against local rivals Dundee. Over his career from 1974 to 1989, he played 385 league games and scored 109 goals for Dundee United. When you count all competitions, he scored 171 goals in 576 games. This makes him the second-highest goal scorer in Dundee United's history. After he stopped playing, Sturrock stayed at Dundee United for five more years as a coach. He left the club in 1993 after 20 years of being involved with them.

International Career

Paul Sturrock first played for the Scotland under-21 team on October 12, 1976. He scored his first goal for the under-21 team in February 1977 against Wales under-21s.

He made his full international debut for Scotland against Wales on May 16, 1981. On November 8, 1981, he scored his first goal for Scotland in a World Cup qualifier against Portugal. Sturrock played 20 times for his country and scored 3 goals. He was part of the Scotland squad for the 1982 World Cup in Spain and played twice in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Managerial Career

A study in 2012 by a football economics professor found that Paul Sturrock was one of the best-performing managers in English football. This was based on how well his teams did compared to their budgets.

St Johnstone

In 1993, Sturrock became the manager of St Johnstone. The team was relegated to the First Division at the end of the 1993–94 season. It took some time for Sturrock to improve the team. However, he led St Johnstone to promotion back to the Premier Division in the 1996–97 season. They won the First Division by a large margin of 20 points. In their first season back in the Premier Division, St Johnstone finished in a good fifth place.

Dundee United

In September 1998, Sturrock became the manager at Dundee United, the club where he was a famous player. He started well, and fans were excited. However, his team struggled after their top scorer, Billy Dodds, was sold in December 1999. The team didn't score many goals after that, and Sturrock resigned in August 2000.

Plymouth Argyle

In October 2000, Sturrock joined Plymouth Argyle. The club was having a very tough time in the English Football League Third Division. Sturrock started to build his own team. The next season, he led them to win the Third Division title, setting new club and league records with 102 points. In October 2003, Sturrock had also taken Argyle to the top of the Football League Second Division. He left when Plymouth had 12 games left to play in a season they would also win, earning promotion to the Football League Championship. Because of his success, he was named manager of Argyle's Team of the Century in a BBC poll.

Southampton

Paul Sturrock became the manager of Southampton on March 4, 2004. However, he left the club on August 23, 2004, after a short time.

Sheffield Wednesday

Sturrock then became manager of Sheffield Wednesday on September 23, 2004. The club was in 14th place in Football League One. He guided them to the League One play-offs. After winning their semi-final, Sturrock led Wednesday to the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium. They beat Hartlepool United 4–2 after extra time, winning promotion to the Football League Championship. Despite many injuries to key players, he helped Wednesday stay clear of relegation in their first season back in the Championship. He was sacked in October 2006, just five weeks after signing a new contract.

Swindon Town

In November 2006, Sturrock became the manager of Swindon Town. His first season there was a success. He led the team to promotion from Football League Two to Football League One.

Return to Plymouth

On November 27, 2007, Sturrock left Swindon Town to return to Plymouth Argyle. He brought his assistants, Kevin Summerfield and John Blackley, with him. Sturrock then led the club to its highest league position in 20 years, finishing tenth in the Championship. However, the team struggled later and finished just outside the relegation zone in the 2008–09 season. On December 10, 2009, Sturrock was removed as Plymouth Argyle manager. He officially left the club in April 2010.

Southend United

On July 5, 2010, Sturrock was confirmed as manager of Southend United in Football League Two. He had a tough job rebuilding the team. After finishing in the middle of the table in his first season, he had more success in the 2011–12 season. Southend led League Two for most of that campaign, and Sturrock was named Manager of the Month for September 2011. Sturrock was sacked as manager of Southend United on March 24, 2013.

Yeovil Town

After a very brief advisory role at Torquay United, Paul Sturrock was appointed manager of Yeovil Town on April 9, 2015. The club was almost certain to be relegated at that point. After a difficult start to the new season, Yeovil announced on December 1, 2015, that they had parted ways with Sturrock.

After Management

After retiring from professional management, Sturrock moved back to the South West of England. He stayed involved in local football, taking on an advisory role at a non-league club called Plymouth Parkway. He also writes a regular column for the local newspaper, the Plymouth Evening Herald.

On March 8, 2018, Sturrock rejoined Dundee United as their chief scout in England. Later that month, he was also added to the United coaching staff. He left United during the 2018–19 season.

Career Statistics

Club

International

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

List of international goals scored by Paul Sturrock

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	18 November 1981	Estadio da Luz, Lisbon	Portugal	1–0	1–2	1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	13 October 1982	Hampden Park, Glasgow	East Germany	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
3	12 September 1984	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Yugoslavia	4–1	6–1	Friendly match

Managerial Record

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
St Johnstone		1 August 1993	5 September 1998	&&&&&&&&&&&&0197.&&&&&0197	&&&&&&&&&&&&&090.&&&&&090	&&&&&&&&&&&&&056.&&&&&056	&&&&&&&&&&&&&051.&&&&&051	&&&&&&&&&&&&&045.69000045.69
Dundee United		5 September 1998	7 August 2000	&&&&&&&&&&&&&085.&&&&&085	&&&&&&&&&&&&&027.&&&&&027	&&&&&&&&&&&&&019.&&&&&019	&&&&&&&&&&&&&039.&&&&&039	&&&&&&&&&&&&&031.76000031.76
Plymouth Argyle		31 October 2000	4 March 2004	&&&&&&&&&&&&0178.&&&&&0178	&&&&&&&&&&&&&085.&&&&&085	&&&&&&&&&&&&&047.&&&&&047	&&&&&&&&&&&&&046.&&&&&046	&&&&&&&&&&&&&047.75000047.75
Southampton		4 March 2004	23 August 2004	&&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&038.46000038.46
Sheffield Wednesday		23 September 2004	19 October 2006	&&&&&&&&&&&&0104.&&&&&0104	&&&&&&&&&&&&&035.&&&&&035	&&&&&&&&&&&&&029.&&&&&029	&&&&&&&&&&&&&040.&&&&&040	&&&&&&&&&&&&&033.65000033.65
Swindon Town		7 November 2006	27 November 2007	&&&&&&&&&&&&&052.&&&&&052	&&&&&&&&&&&&&026.&&&&&026	&&&&&&&&&&&&&011.&&&&&011	&&&&&&&&&&&&&015.&&&&&015	&&&&&&&&&&&&&050.&&&&&050.00
Plymouth Argyle		27 November 2007	10 December 2009	&&&&&&&&&&&&&099.&&&&&099	&&&&&&&&&&&&&028.&&&&&028	&&&&&&&&&&&&&022.&&&&&022	&&&&&&&&&&&&&049.&&&&&049	&&&&&&&&&&&&&028.28000028.28
Southend United		5 July 2010	24 March 2013	&&&&&&&&&&&&0161.&&&&&0161	&&&&&&&&&&&&&067.&&&&&067	&&&&&&&&&&&&&043.&&&&&043	&&&&&&&&&&&&&051.&&&&&051	&&&&&&&&&&&&&041.61000041.61
Yeovil Town		9 April 2015	1 December 2015	&&&&&&&&&&&&&030.&&&&&030	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	&&&&&&&&&&&&&016.&&&&&016	&&&&&&&&&&&&&020.&&&&&020.00
Total				&&&&&&&&&&&&0919.&&&&&0919	&&&&&&&&&&&&0369.&&&&&0369	&&&&&&&&&&&&0237.&&&&&0237	&&&&&&&&&&&&0313.&&&&&0313	&&&&&&&&&&&&&040.15000040.15

Honours and Awards

As a Player

Dundee United

• Scottish Football League Premier Division: 1982–83
• Scottish League Cup: 1979–80, 1980–81
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 1986–87
• Scottish Cup runner-up: 1980–81, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88

Scotland

• The Rous Cup: 1985

As a Manager

St Johnstone

• Scottish League First Division (second tier): 1996–97

Plymouth Argyle

• Football League Third Division: 2001–02
• Football League Second Division: 2003–04

Sheffield Wednesday

• Football League One play-offs: 2004–05

Swindon Town

• Football League Two promotion: 2006–07

Individual Awards

• Football League Third Division Manager of the Year: 2001–02
• Football League Second Division Manager of the Year: 2003–04
• LMA Managers Performance League: January 2004
• Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2019

Books

Paul Sturrock's autobiography, a book about his life, was published in 2015. It is called Luggy: The Autobiography of Paul Sturrock.

See Also

• List of Dundee United F.C. players
• List of one-club men in association football
• List of Scotland international footballers