Bruce Cleland



Bruce ClelandBruce Cleland began his footballing career with amateur outfit Glasgow United, the Striker then moved onto the juniors with Maryhill, his goalscoring prowess wouldn’t go unnoticed and in 1977 he finally broke into the senior game with Albion Rovers. During the 1978/79 season, Bruce managed to get on the scoresheet an impressive 33 times and had many suitors taking a keen interest in him. In the summer of 1979 Motherwell parted with around £45,000 for his signature, a fee which is still the highest transfer fee the Cliftonhill club have received for a player.

His early career at Fir Park was rather forgettable, under the guidance Ally MacLeod, Cleland struggled for any real form, perhaps moving from part time football to full time was too much and after making his debut against Clydebank in a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the 1979/80 and then making a further 13 straight appearances in the league he would quickly vanish and not resurface until a year later. Bruce enjoyed some success when Davie Hay was manager, he would get an extended run in the side and goals would start to come as he helped Motherwell gain promotion to the Premier League in 1981/82. He struggled to make any real impact in the Premier League where he would only make the nine appearances before being loaned out to Ayr United.

Name: Bruce Cleland
Height:
Weight:
Date of Birth: 26th September 1958
Place of Birth: Paisley
Position: Forward
Nationality: Scotland

Football Career:

Glasgow United
Maryhill Juniors 1977
Albion Rovers 1977 1979
Motherwell 1979 1983
Ayr United 1982 1983
Barrow 1983 1984
Queen of the South 1984
Albion Rovers 1984 1986
Stranraer 1986 1988

Well Career:

Apps Goals
League:
50 (16) 25
Scottish Cup:
4 (1) 0
League Cup:
9 (1) 1
Other:
0 0
Total:
63 (18) 26