Steve Kean facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Steve Kean

Kean in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Stephen Kean
Date of birth	(1967-09-30) 30 September 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Torpedo Kutaisi (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–1987	Celtic	0	(0)
1987	→ Swansea City (loan)	4	(0)
1987–1988	Alloa Athletic	1	(0)
1988–1991	Académica Coimbra	9	(1)
1991	Naval	35	(0)
1991–1992	Bath City
1993–1994	Newbury Town
Teams managed
2010–2012	Blackburn Rovers
2013–2017	DPMM FC
2014	Brunei
2021	Melbourne Victory
2023–	Torpedo Kutaisi
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Stephen Kean (born 30 September 1967) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of the Georgian club Torpedo Kutaisi. Kean played as a winger for different clubs in Scotland, England, and Portugal during the 1980s and 1990s. After his playing career, he moved into coaching and management. He was in charge of Blackburn Rovers for 21 months before he left in September 2012.

Steve Kean's Playing Days

Steve Kean grew up in Cumbernauld, a town near Glasgow. He went to St. Maurice's High School. After school, he became a professional player for Celtic. However, he found it hard to get into the first team because it had many famous players like Tommy Burns and Paul McStay.

In 1987, he joined Swansea City on loan. This was at the same time as Chris Coleman. They became good friends and kept working together even after they stopped playing.

Later, Kean played for Académica Coimbra in Portugal. He played nine games and scored one goal. While in Portugal, he also played for another club called Naval.

Becoming a Coach and Manager

Kean with Coventry City in 2008

After he stopped playing football, Steve Kean started working as a coach. He coached for clubs like Reading, Fulham, Real Sociedad, and Coventry City. He often worked as an assistant coach to his friend Chris Coleman at Fulham, Real Sociedad, and Coventry.

In 2008, there were reports that Kean might become an assistant manager at Chelsea. His ability to speak Portuguese, which he learned during his playing days, was thought to be a main reason for Chelsea's interest.

Managing Blackburn Rovers

On 4 August 2009, Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce chose Steve Kean as his new first-team coach. Allardyce said that Kean was the best choice because of his personality, experience, and knowledge of football.

After Allardyce was no longer manager in December 2010, Kean first became the temporary manager. Then, on 22 December 2010, he was officially made manager until the end of the season. In January 2011, Blackburn confirmed that Kean had signed a new contract until June 2013. There were some discussions around his appointment, but Kean focused on his new role.

Kean's start as manager was good. However, the team then went ten games without a win, which put Rovers in danger of being moved down to a lower league. They managed to stay in the 2010–11 Premier League by finishing 15th, after a 3–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the last day.

In November 2011, Blackburn announced that Kean had signed another new contract, even though the club was at the bottom of the league. This happened despite protests from fans who wanted Kean to be removed. At that time, Steve Kean had one of the lowest win percentages for a Blackburn Rovers manager since 1992.

More issues arose when Kean seemed to prioritize league games over a League Cup quarter-final match against Cardiff City. Fans were unhappy and asked for refunds for their tickets. In December 2011, local newspapers and politicians also called for Kean to resign. After 38 league games as manager, Kean had only earned 32 points, leaving Rovers at the bottom of the table by Christmas. Despite this, Kean remained confident that he would stay and improve the team's performance.

The team's results improved a little in the second half of the season. But five losses in a row in April again put Rovers in danger of relegation. By this point, Kean had won only 12 of his 55 league games. On 7 May 2012, a home loss against Wigan Athletic meant that Blackburn Rovers were moved down to the Football League Championship. This ended their eleven-year stay in the top league.

Kean left his job as Rovers' manager on 28 September 2012. The club was third in the Championship table when he left. He stated that he had to resign because his position had become very difficult.

Managing DPMM FC

In October 2013, Kean agreed to become the new manager of S.League team DPMM FC in Brunei. He signed a one-year contract on 28 November 2013. Brunei led the 2014 S.League for most of the season but finished second to Warriors FC. They also reached the semi-finals of the 2014 Singapore Cup. However, the team did win the 2014 Singapore League Cup, beating Tanjong Pagar United 2–0 in the final.

Kean also became the head coach of the Brunei national football team for a short time in October 2014.

Brunei DPMM won the S-League championship on 21 November 2015, with a 4–0 win at home. Kean was named the S.League's coach of the year in 2015. He left Brunei DPMM at the end of the 2017 S.League season.

Coaching Melbourne Victory

On 23 October 2020, Kean was announced as the assistant coach for Melbourne Victory in Australia. He worked under head coach Grant Brebner. They had worked together before at Reading. In April 2021, Kean became the interim (temporary) coach until the end of the 2020–21 A-League season.

Working at Hibernian

Kean became the academy director for Scottish club Hibernian in November 2021. His job was to find young players who could join the first team. He stayed with Hibs for the 2022–23 season. He decided that Hibs would not have a "B" team in the Lowland League, unlike some other big Scottish clubs. Instead, they would play in the SPFL Reserve League, have friendly matches, and take part in the 2022–23 UEFA Youth League. In the Youth League, Hibs did very well, beating teams from Norway and France before losing to Borussia Dortmund.

Managing Torpedo Kutaisi

Kean left Hibernian in May 2023 to become the manager of the Georgian club Torpedo Kutaisi.

Managerial Statistics

This table shows Steve Kean's record as a manager for different teams.

Honours

These are the awards and titles Steve Kean has won as a manager:

Manager

Torpedo Kutasi

• Georgian Super Cup: 2024

DPMM

• S.League: 2015
• Singapore League Cup: 2014

Individual

• S.League Coach of the Year: 2015