Ally MacLeod



Ally MacLeodIn his playing days Ally MacLeod was a noted left winger who played for Third Lanark, St Mirren, Blackburn Rovers and Hibernian. It was his managerial skills that brought him more acclaim in his career. Starting off at Somerset Park with Ayr United a period of success there was the perfect platform to move onto Pittodrie with Aberdeen. Even greater success with the Dons put him in the frame for the Scotland job. In what should have been a dream job turned into disaster for MacLeod as he led his country in the World Cup in 1978 in Argentina with high hopes but it turned out to be somewhat a traumatic experience. Soon thereafter he would return to his old job at Ayr Utd.

Following Rodger Hynd’s departure, assistant manager John Haggart took temporary charge of Motherwell until the next manager was appointed, Ally Macleod was appointed in December 1978. The board had decided he was the man to lead the club forward. The team he inherited from Hynd seemed doomed to relegation and MacLeod set about wholesale changes, putting the entire first team squad up for transfer and throwing youngsters into the mix as it was obvious huge change was needed around the club.

Despite being favourites for a quick return to the Premier League Motherwell fell short in 1979-1980 and 1980-1981. Five straight League Cup defeats saw MacLeod depart as he couldn’t find the right blend to bring the club back to the Premier League. He would later manage Airdrieonians and have a third spell at Ayr United. Queen of the South was his last managerial post where, at the age of 61, he scored a penalty when playing for their reserve team. He died in 2004, aged 72 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Name: Alistair Reid MacLeod
Date of Birth: 26th February 1931
Place of Birth: Glasgow
Playing Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Scottish

Management Career:

Scotland Flag Ayr United 1966 1975
Scotland Flag Aberdeen 1975 1977
Scotland Flag Scotland 1977 1978
Scotland Flag Ayr United 1978
Scotland Flag Motherwell 1979 1981
Scotland Flag Airdrieonians 1984 1985
Scotland Flag Ayr United 1986 1989
Scotland Flag Queen of the South 1991 1992

Playing Career:

Scotland Flag Third Lanark 1949 1955
Scotland Flag St Mirren 1955 1956
England Flag Blackburn Rovers 1956 1961
Scotland Flag Hibernian 1961 1963
Scotland Flag Third Lanark 1963 1964
Scotland Flag Ayr United 1964 1965