Steven Pressley facts for kids
Pressley at a Dundee training session in 2025
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven John Pressley | ||
| Date of birth | 11 October 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Elgin, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Dundee (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1990 | Inverkeithing United Boys Club | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1994 | Rangers | 34 | (1) |
| 1994–1995 | Coventry City | 19 | (1) |
| 1995–1998 | Dundee United | 100 | (6) |
| 1998–2006 | Heart of Midlothian | 271 | (19) |
| 2006–2008 | Celtic | 19 | (1) |
| 2008 | Randers | 9 | (0) |
| 2009 | Falkirk | 16 | (0) |
| Total | 468 | (28) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991–1994 | Scotland U21 | 26 | (1) |
| 2000–2006 | Scotland | 32 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005 | Heart of Midlothian (caretaker) | ||
| 2010–2013 | Falkirk | ||
| 2013–2015 | Coventry City | ||
| 2015–2016 | Fleetwood Town | ||
| 2018 | Pafos | ||
| 2019 | Carlisle United | ||
| 2025– | Dundee | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Steven John Pressley (born 11 October 1973) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a centre back, which is a defensive position in football. Steven Pressley is currently the head coach of the Scottish Premiership club Dundee.
Pressley had a very long career as a player. He played for big clubs like Celtic and Rangers. He played over 100 league games for Dundee United and more than 250 games for Hearts. He was the captain of the Hearts team that won the 2006 Scottish Cup Final. He also played 32 times for the Scotland national team. People described Steven Pressley as a hard-working player and a great leader on the field.
After he stopped playing, Pressley became a coach. He was an assistant manager at Falkirk before becoming their main manager in 2010. He also helped George Burley coach the Scotland team. Later, he moved to manage League One team Coventry City in England. Since then, he has managed other clubs like Fleetwood Town, Pafos in Cyprus, and Carlisle United.
Contents
Playing Career
Starting at Rangers
Steven Pressley was born in Elgin, Scotland. As a child, he was a fan of Aberdeen. He began his football journey at Rangers. While playing for Rangers at Ibrox, he won a Scottish Cup medal in 1993. He came on as a substitute when Rangers beat Aberdeen in the 1993 Scottish Cup Final.
Moving to Coventry City
In October 1994, Pressley moved to the English team Coventry City. The transfer fee was £600,000. He scored one goal for Coventry, and it was against Manchester United.
Returning to Scotland with Dundee United
Pressley came back to Scotland in July 1995. He joined Dundee United for £750,000. In his first season, he helped Dundee United get promoted to the top league, the Premier Division. The next season, they finished third in the league.
Becoming a Hearts Legend
Steven Pressley's strong playing style and leadership skills caught the eye of Hearts manager Jim Jefferies. He joined the Edinburgh club for free in 1998. In 2001–02, Craig Levein made Pressley the club captain. Only one other player, Bobby Parker, has been Hearts captain for longer.
Pressley was captain when Hearts won big European matches against teams like VfB Stuttgart, Bordeaux, and Basel. He helped Hearts finish second in the league in 2005/06. They also finished third three other times. He led Hearts to win the 2006 Scottish Cup Final. They beat Gretna 4–2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 1–1. Pressley scored the first penalty for Hearts. He is now in the Hearts Hall of Fame, showing how important he was at Tynecastle.
In 2006, there were some problems at the club with the owner, Vladimir Romanov. Pressley spoke for the players about their concerns. He later left Hearts in December 2006.
Joining Celtic
In December 2006, Pressley signed with Celtic until May 2008. He had played for Rangers before, so he became one of the few players to play for both Old Firm rivals.
He played his first game for Celtic on January 2, 2007. He scored his first goal for Celtic in the Scottish Cup against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He also scored a league goal against Hearts. He was part of the Celtic team that won the Scottish Cup in 2007. This made him the first player to win the Scottish Cup with three different clubs. He left Celtic in the summer of 2008 when his contract ended.
Playing in Denmark
After leaving Celtic, Pressley trained with other clubs but didn't sign anywhere. On September 1, 2008, he signed a four-month contract with Randers in the Danish Superliga (Denmark's top league). He had always wanted to play in another country. He said it was a great chance to experience a new challenge.
Pressley played his first game for Randers on September 14, 2008. The game was a 1–1 draw against AC Horsens.
Final Club: Falkirk
Pressley's contract with Randers ended in December 2008. On January 13, 2009, he joined Falkirk on a short contract. He played his first game for Falkirk on January 18, 2009, against Rangers. He was also a substitute in the 2009 Scottish Cup Final, which Falkirk lost 1–0 to Rangers. He officially retired from playing football in June 2009.
International Career
Steven Pressley played for Scotland 32 times. He was captain of the team on two occasions. He holds the record for being the most capped Scottish player from Hearts, with 32 appearances. This broke the old record of 29 caps held by Bobby Walker.
He played his first game for Scotland in 2000 against France, who were then World and European champions. His last game for Scotland was on October 11, 2006, against Ukraine. He was sent off in that game. He stopped playing international football in February 2008 when he became Scotland's assistant coach.
Coaching Career
Hearts (Caretaker)
Pressley had his first taste of managing while still a player. He was a joint caretaker manager for Hearts for two games at the end of the 2004–05 season. They lost both games.
Scotland Assistant Coach
In February 2008, Pressley became an assistant coach for the Scotland national team. He worked alongside manager George Burley. Pressley had been captain under Burley when Burley managed Hearts. He left his role as Scotland assistant coach in September 2009.
Managing Falkirk
In the summer of 2009, Pressley became an assistant manager at Falkirk after he retired as a player. On February 11, 2010, he was appointed Falkirk's manager. Falkirk was relegated to the First Division at the end of that season. Even though they didn't get promoted back right away, Falkirk extended his contract.
Managing Coventry City
Pressley became the new manager of Coventry City on March 8, 2013. He won his first match in charge the next day. Later in March 2013, the club faced financial difficulties and had 10 points taken away. This dropped Coventry City from 10th to 14th place in the league. They finished the season in 15th place.
In the 2013–14 Football League One season, Coventry City started with another 10-point deduction. They also had to play all their home games 34 miles away in Northampton. Despite these challenges, the team avoided relegation and finished 18th.
Pressley signed a new four-year contract with Coventry City in September 2014. However, the team struggled after that. They were even knocked out of the 2014–15 FA Cup by a non-league club. After a series of poor results, Pressley was dismissed by Coventry City on February 23, 2015. He had been in charge for almost two years.
Managing Fleetwood Town
After leaving Coventry City, Pressley worked as a scout for Southampton. On October 6, 2015, he was appointed manager of Fleetwood Town. Pressley resigned as manager of Fleetwood Town on July 26, 2016.
Managing Pafos
In February 2018, Pressley became the manager of Pafos, a club in the top Cypriot league.
Managing Carlisle United
Pressley was appointed manager of English League Two club Carlisle United on January 16, 2019. Carlisle was in sixth place when he took over, but they finished 11th. Pressley made many changes to the team in the summer of 2019. He was dismissed on November 13, 2019, when the team was in 19th place.
On May 10, 2021, it was announced that Pressley would join Brentford as Head of Individual Development.
Current Role: Dundee Head Coach
After leaving Brentford, Steven Pressley was announced as the head coach of Scottish Premiership club Dundee. He started this role in 2025.
Personal Life
Steven Pressley's son, Aaron, also became a professional footballer.
Career Statistics
International Appearances
| Scotland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 |
| 2003 | 10 | 0 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 32 | 0 |
Honours
Player Achievements
Rangers
- Scottish Premier Division: 1992–93, 1993–94
- Scottish Cup: 1992–93
Hearts
- Scottish Cup: 2005–06
Celtic
- Scottish Premier League: 2006–07
- Scottish Cup: 2006–07
Individual Awards
- Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: February 2004
Manager Achievements
Falkirk
- Scottish Challenge Cup: 2011–12
Individual Awards
- Scottish First Division Manager of the Month (4 times): September 2011, October 2011 (shared), January 2012, February 2012
- League One Manager of the Month: October 2013
See also
In Spanish: Steven Pressley para niños
- List of Scotland national football team captains
- Players who played for both Celtic and Rangers
