Gordon Forrest

Last updated

Gordon Forrest
Personal information
Full name Gordon Ian Forrest [1]
Date of birth (1977-01-14) 14 January 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Dunfermline, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian
(first team coach)
Youth career
Rosyth Recreation
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1993–1996 Raith Rovers 1 (0)
1997–1999 Livingston 37 (5)
1999 Leiftur
1999–2000 East Fife 26 (1)
2000–2005 Berwick Rangers 123 (18)
2005–2009 Burntisland Shipyard
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon Ian Forrest (born 14 January 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player who was first team coach of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. His playing career included spells with Raith Rovers, Livingston, East Fife and Berwick Rangers in Scotland, and Leiftur in Iceland. He has coached in Scotland, New Zealand and in Canada, where he was with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Contents

Early life

Gordon Forrest was born in Dunfermline, Fife, on 14 January 1977. [1] He was educated at Woodmill High School in the town and supported local football club Dunfermline Athletic. [2]

Playing career

Forrest began his senior career with Raith Rovers, joining as a youth from Rosyth Recreation in 1993. [3] He made his Raith debut against Celtic in 1996 and also played in the UEFA Cup. When his former Raith manager Jimmy Nicholl moved to Millwall, Forrest had an extended trial with the English club before joining Livingston in 1997. After two and a half years there, he left in 1999 for a short spell in Iceland with Leiftur, where he again appeared in the UEFA Cup. Returning to Scotland, he joined East Fife in October 1999. He then joined Berwick Rangers in 2000, making over 100 league appearances before leaving in 2005. Forrest ended his playing career with amateur club Burntisland Shipyard. [3]

Coaching career

Having left senior football whilst still in his twenties, Forrest concentrated on his coaching career, obtaining a UEFA 'A' licence and youth and child coaching licences from the Scottish Football Association (SFA). He went on to work for the SFA as a Youth Development Officer in Edinburgh and Fife. In 2009 he returned to East Fife, working as first team coach under manager Stevie Crawford. [3] In 2011, he emigrated to New Zealand to work as a football development manager for the Northern Football Federation. [4] He was also assistant coach for the New Zealand women's national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In October 2012, Forrest joined Canadian-based Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Vancouver Whitecaps FC as head coach of their under-18 team and manager of coaching development. [3] In January 2014 was promoted to working with the MLS team as an assistant coach to Carl Robinson. [5] Whitecaps released Robinson and his coaching team, including Forrest, in September 2018. [6]

Forrest returned to Scotland in January 2019 to take up the position of assistant head coach to Robbie Neilson at Scottish Championship club Dundee United, [7] a role he shared with Lee McCulloch from June 2019 onwards. [8] When Neilson left the club in June 2020 to become manager at Heart of Midlothian, Forrest and McCulloch were initially placed in temporary charge at United before joining Hearts as Neilson's assistants. [9] [10]

In June 2023, Forrest was named as first team coach of Hearts. [11] He was dismissed in September 2024 [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raith Rovers F.C.</span> Association football club in Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Levein</span> Scottish association football player

Craig William Levein is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone.

Craig James Brown Brewster is a Scottish former professional footballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, Dundee United and Dunfermline Athletic. He also had a successful spell with Ionikos in Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Nicholl</span> Northern Irish footballer (born 1956)

James Michael Nicholl is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played for several clubs, including Manchester United and Rangers. He was mainly a right-back but could also play in other defensive roles. Nicholl won a total of 73 international caps for Northern Ireland, scoring one goal.

Stephen Crawford is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the interim manager of Lowland League club Cowdenbeath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee McCulloch</span> Scottish footballer (born 1978)

Lee Henry McCulloch is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who most recently served as assistant manager of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Neilson</span> Scottish professional football manager and former player

Robbie Neilson is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Gary Locke is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Locke both played for and managed Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock, and has also managed Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath. He is currently Club Ambassador at Hearts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Smith (footballer, born 1974)</span> Scottish footballer (born 1974)

Barry Smith is a Scottish football coach and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League Two club Elgin City. As a player, Smith played in the right back, centre back, and defensive midfielder roles for Celtic, Dundee, Valur, Partick Thistle, Greenock Morton and Brechin City. Smith was admitted into Dundee's Hall of Fame having made 400 appearances for the club.

John McGlynn is a Scottish football coach and former player who manages Scottish Championship club Falkirk. He has previously managed Scottish clubs Raith Rovers, Heart of Midlothian and Livingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Y. Thomson</span> Scottish footballer

Scott Yuill Thomson is a Scottish former professional football goalkeeper, who played mainly for Raith Rovers and won the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final when the Stark's Park club defeated Celtic at Ibrox Park. Since retiring as a player, he has worked as a goalkeeping coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrews United F.C.</span> Association football club in Scotland

St Andrews United Football Club is a Scottish football club based in St Andrews, Fife. Founded in 1921, their home ground is The Clayton Caravan Park Recreation Ground. The team colours are black shirts with black shorts and black socks. The team plays in the East of Scotland League Premier Division, having moved from the junior leagues in 2018.

Kevin McBride is a Scottish football player and coach.

Laurie Ellis is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer who is currently a coach with the Rangers Academy. He played for Raith Rovers over three spells, as well as St Mirren, Cowdenbeath and Stirling Albion. As a coach, he has twice served as caretaker manager at Dundee United and managed Queen's Park between May and December 2021.

Jason Dair is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder or full-back now the manager of Dundonald Bluebell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dario Zanatta</span> Canadian soccer player

Dario Zanatta is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Canadian Premier League club Pacific FC. Zanatta has spent most of his senior career in Scotland and has previously played for Heart of Midlothian, Queen's Park, Alloa Athletic, Partick Thistle, Ayr United, and Hamilton Academical. He has also represented the Canada national team at youth level.

The 2016–17 season is the 136th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian F.C. with the team participating in the Scottish Premiership.

The 2020–21 Scottish Championship was the eighth season of the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football.

The 2020–21 season was the 140th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian (Hearts), with the team participating in the Scottish Championship. It was the club's first season of play in the second tier of Scottish football since 2015, and only the second since 1983, having been relegated from the Scottish Premiership, after the previous season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. On 10 April 2021, Hearts earned automatic promotion back to the Scottish Premiership, having been in first place for most of the season. They also competed in this season's Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup, losing in the second round of each competition respectively.

The 2022–23 season was the 142nd season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian. It was the club's second season of play back in the top tier of Scottish football.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Scottish Football Review 2004/05. Burford: CRE8. 2004. p. 70. ISBN   9780954855604.
  2. ↑ "Vancouver coach Gordon Forrest backs Dunfermline Athletic's youth route". Dunfermline Press. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mccoll, Michael (18 October 2012). "Gordon Forrest joins Whitecaps as U18 Head Coach". Canadian Soccer News. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Assistant Coach and Head of High Performance – Gordon Forrest". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Vose, Christopher (14 February 2014). "Getting to know Gordon Forrest". The Vancouver Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Bogert, Tom (25 September 2018). "Vancouver Whitecaps part ways with Carl Robinson". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Dundee United: Morgaro Gomis signs up for third spell". BBC Sport. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  8. ↑ Nicolson, Eric (27 June 2019). "Lee McCulloch gets new role with Dundee United". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Robbie Neilson: Hearts name Dundee Utd boss to replace Daniel Stendel". BBC Sport. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Hearts: Lee McCulloch & Gordon Forrest join Robbie Neilson's staff". BBC Sport. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Coaching team confirmed". www.heartsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Hearts sack head coach Naismith". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.