Paul Sheerin

Paul Sheerin

Personal information
Full name	Paul George Sheerin
Date of birth	(1974-08-28) 28 August 1974 (age 48)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Kilmarnock (assistant manager)
Youth career
	Whitehill Welfare
	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1992	Alloa Athletic	9	(0)
1992–1997	Southampton	0	(0)
1997	Östersunds FK	18	(3)
1997–1998	Alloa Athletic	3	(1)
1998–2001	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	115	(36)
2001–2002	Ayr United	53	(8)
2002–2004	Aberdeen	47	(9)
2004–2010	St Johnstone	187	(32)
2010–2014	Arbroath	129	(17)
Total		561	(106)
International career
1995	Scotland U21	1	(0)
Managerial career
2010–2014	Arbroath
2021	Aberdeen (interim)
2021	Falkirk
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul George Sheerin (born 28 August 1974) is a Scottish former football player and coach, who is currently the assistant manager of Kilmarnock.

Sheerin played as a midfielder for Alloa Athletic, Southampton, Östersunds FK, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Ayr United, Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Arbroath.

While continuing as a player, he was appointed manager of Arbroath in May 2010. He held this post until June 2014, when he returned to Aberdeen as a youth team coach. Sheerin became manager of Falkirk in May 2021, but was sacked later that year.

Playing career

Sheerin signed as a professional for Alloa from junior side Whitehill Welfare, although he had been on the books of Celtic as a schoolboy. Paul Sheerin signed for Southampton in October 1992 and while at The Dell he played under several managers including Ian Branfoot, Alan Ball and Graeme Souness. However, he failed to break through and left in December 1997 without having made a first team appearance. ^[1] During his time at Southampton he earned international recognition after playing for Scotland Under-21 in a 1–0 win over San Marino in November 1995.^{[ citation needed ]}

After a summer playing in Sweden with Östersunds FK, he had a brief period back at his former club Alloa before joining Inverness Caledonian Thistle in January 1998. His stint at Caley Thistle lasted to the end of the 2000–01 season, in which period he made 136 appearances, scoring 45 goals. He then had spells at Ayr United and Aberdeen, where he finished as the top scorer in the 2002–03 season. After leaving Aberdeen, Sheerin joined St Johnstone on the eve of the 2004–05 season on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. On 15 November 2006, Sheerin was awarded the Scottish Football League "Player of the Month" award for October. He scored as St Johnstone won the 2007 Scottish Challenge Cup Final against Dunfermline Athletic. ^[2] In May 2008, Sheerin had his contract extended with St Johnstone by another year. He coached St Johnstone U17s. ^[3]

Coaching career

While still playing for the St Johnstone first team, Sheerin coached their under-17 team that won the SFL Under-17 Youth Division in 2008–09. ^{[4] [5]}

Arbroath manager

On 27 May 2010, Sheerin was confirmed as the new player/manager of Arbroath. ^[6] Sheerin guided Arbroath to the Third Division championship in his first season in charge, the club's first national trophy win in their 133-year history. ^[7] He agreed a new contract with Arbroath at the end of the 2010–11 season. ^[8] Arbroath were relegated after finishing last in the 2013–14 Scottish League One.

Aberdeen

After the end of the season, Sheerin left Arbroath and became the manager of Aberdeen's under-20 team. ^[9] Aberdeen won the Development League title in his first season in 2014–15. ^[10] The under-20 team also reached the Scottish Youth Cup final in 2017–18, but lost 3–1 to Hibernian. ^[11]

Following the departure of Derek McInnes on 8 March 2021, Sheerin was appointed interim manager at Aberdeen. ^[12] Sheerin took charge of one game, a 1–0 defeat against Dundee United, before the club appointed Stephen Glass as the new manager. ^[13]

Falkirk manager

On 28 May 2021, Sheerin was named as the new head coach of Scottish League One side Falkirk. ^[14] He was sacked by Falkirk after a 6–0 defeat by Queen's Park that left them in fifth place, three points outside of the promotion play-off positions. ^[15] Soon after leaving Falkirk, Sheerin took up a coaching position with Derek McInnes at Kilmarnock in January 2022. ^[16] Sheein became Kilmarnock assistant manager in June 2023, after Tony Docherty had left the club to become Dundee manager. ^[17]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 4 December 2021

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Arbroath		27 May 2010	20 May 2014	167	66	35	66	287	293	−6	039.52	[18] [19]
Aberdeen (interim)		8 March 2021	12 April 2021	3	2	0	1	2	1	+1	066.67	[20]
Falkirk		28 May 2021	5 December 2021	23	8	4	11	31	37	−6	034.78
Total				193	76	39	78	320	331	−11	039.38	—

Honours

Player

St Johnstone

• Scottish First Division: 2008–09
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2007–08

Arbroath

• Scottish Third Division: 2010–11

Manager

St Johnstone U-17

• SFL Under-17 Youth Division: 2008–09

Arbroath

• Scottish Third Division: 2010–11

Aberdeen U-20

• SPFL Development League: 2014–15

References

1. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 614. ISBN   0-9534474-3-X.
2. "Dunfermline Ath 2-3 St Johnstone". BBC. 25 November 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
3. "Saints secure Swankie and Millar". BBC News. 1 May 2008. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
4. "Youth Winners". Scottish Football League. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
5. "League Title joy for under-17s". St Johnstone F.C. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
6. "Paul Sheerin is new manager at Arbroath". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
7. Stewart, Craig P. (25 April 2011). "Third Division: Arbroath clinch title for first national trophy". The Scotsman . Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
8. "Player-manager Paul Sheerin agrees Arbroath extension". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
9. "Paul Sheerin joins Aberdeen as coach after leaving Arbroath". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
   "Sheerin returns to Pittodrie". SPFL. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
10. "Young Dons win Development League!". Aberdeen F.C. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
11. Crawford, Kenny (26 April 2018). "Scottish Youth Cup final: Hibernian beat Aberdeen 3-1". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
12. "Derek McInnes: Aberdeen part with manager after eight years". BBC Sport. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
13. Smith, Tyrone (23 March 2021). "Aberdeen: Stephen Glass named new Pittodrie boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
14. "Paul Sheerin joins Falkirk as head coach". falkirkfc.co.uk. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
15. "Falkirk sack Paul Sheerin following 6-0 loss at Queen's Park". BBC Sport. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
16. Wilson, Fraser (7 January 2022). "Derek McInnes insists history will prove his Aberdeen legacy as Kilmarnock boss ready to do it all over again". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
17. "Backroom Team Bolstered As Sheerin Steps Into Assistant Manager Role". Kilmarnock FC. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
18. "Arbroath FC: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
19. "Managers: Paul Sheerin". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
20. "Aberdeen FC: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 September 2021.

External links

• Paul Sheerin at Soccerbase
• Paul Sheerin on Twitter
• St Johnstone's official site profile
• Scotland U21 stats at Fitbastats