Rhys McCabe

Rhys McCabe

Personal information
Full name	Rhys McCabe [1]
Date of birth	(1992-07-24) 24 July 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Polbeth, Scotland
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Airdrieonians (player-manager)
Number	4
Youth career
	Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2012	Rangers	19	(0)
2012–2015	Sheffield Wednesday	40	(1)
2015	→ Portsmouth (loan)	8	(0)
2015–2017	Dunfermline Athletic	38	(5)
2017–2018	Sligo Rovers	45	(6)
2019	St Patrick's Athletic	29	(4)
2020	Brechin City	15	(2)
2020–2021	Queen of the South	32	(0)
2021–	Airdrieonians	97	(14)
International career‡
2012–2013	Scotland U21	3	(0)
Managerial career
2022–	Airdrieonians (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:44, 26 May 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:10, 12 June 2021 (UTC)

Rhys McCabe (born 24 July 1992) is a Scottish footballer and coach who plays as a central midfielder, and is the player-manager of Scottish Championship club Airdrieonians.

McCabe started his senior career with Rangers. McCabe has also played for Dunfermline Athletic, Brechin City and Queen of the South in Scotland, English clubs Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth, and Irish clubs Sligo Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic. McCabe has also represented the Scotland national under-21 football team.

Club career

Rangers

A member of Rangers under-19 squad ^[2] McCabe scored in the Youth Cup Final in April 2011 in what was ultimately a 2–1 defeat to Celtic. ^[3] In July 2011 he made his first team debut as a substitute in a friendly against Blackpool, ^[4] going on to make subsequent appearances in friendlies against Liverpool ^[5] and Hamburg. ^[6] He signed a contract extension in December 2011 extending his stay with the club to 2015. ^[7] Having been an unused substitute in nine previous fixtures that season, ^[8] he made his Scottish Premier League debut on 3 March 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 defeat to Hearts. ^[9] On 25 March he made his Old Firm debut in a 3–2 win over Celtic. ^[10]

Sheffield Wednesday

He then signed a three-year contract with Sheffield Wednesday. ^[11] On 11 October 2012 Sheffield Wednesday agreed an undisclosed settlement with Rangers. ^[12] His first goal for Sheffield Wednesday was an edge of the box screamer from a corner against Charlton Athletic on 22 December 2012. ^[13] The goal was subsequently voted goal of the day on Sky Sports News. He scored his second goal for the club in a League Cup tie against Rotherham United. ^[14]

On 17 March 2014, McCabe joined League Two club Portsmouth on loan for the rest of the 2013–14 season. ^[15] He was recalled early from his loan spell by The Owls on 24 April 2014. ^[16] McCabe was released along with 10 other players from his contract at the end of the 2014–15 season. ^[17]

Dunfermline Athletic

After his release, McCabe was reported as having attracted the interest of a number of clubs in his native Scotland. ^[18] Following trials with St Johnstone and Hibernian, ^[18] McCabe signed for Scottish League One side Dunfermline Athletic in September 2015 ^{[19] [20]} making his debut as a first half substitute in a 5–0 victory against Stenhousemuir, one day after signing for the club as. ^{[21] [22]} His first goal for the Pars came against Albion Rovers, after an error from Rovers keeper Ross M. Stewart saw McCabe's long-range effort punched into the goal. ^{[23] [24]}

Sligo Rovers

On 7 June 2017, McCabe agreed to sign for League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers during the July transfer window, following the end of his contract with Dunfermline Athletic. ^[25]

St Patrick's Athletic

On 23 January 2019, it was announced that McCabe had signed for St Patrick's Athletic alongside Chris Forrester who signed from Aberdeen. ^[26] It was announced on 6 November 2019 that McCabe was released, following the end of his contract with the Saints which whom he played for 27 times over the season, scoring once. ^[27]

Brechin City

In January 2020, McCabe signed a six-month contract with Brechin City.

Queen of the South

On 24 August 2020, McCabe signed a one-year contract with Queen of the South until 31 May 2021. ^[28]

On 23 January 2021, McCabe captained the club in the absence of Stephen Dobbie captain and Gregor Buchanan vice captain through injury, as Queens won 2-1 versus Greenock Morton at Palmerston. ^[29]

Airdrieonians

On 11 June 2021, McCabe signed a one-year contract with Airdrieonians in Scottish League One. ^[30]

On 26 May 2022, following the departure of manager Ian Murray, McCabe was announced as the player-manager of Airdrieonians. ^[31] In his first season in charge McCabe led Airdrieonians to promotion to the Scottish Championship via the play-offs at the end of the 2022-23 season scoring twice in the play-off semi-final against Falkirk.

International career

McCabe made his debut for the Scotland national under-21 football team in April 2012. ^[32]

Personal life

McCabe's cousin Callum Fordyce is also a professional footballer; two previously played together at Airdrieonians (Callum Fordyce was also McCabe's assistant manager at Airdireionians until his departure) and at Dunfermline Athletic. ^[33] Shelley Kerr, the former Scotland Women's manager is his aunt. ^{[34] [35]}

Career statistics

As of 13 May 2022 ^{[36] [37]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rangers	2011–12	Scottish Premier League	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
Sheffield Wednesday	2012–13	EFL Championship	22	1	1	0	0	0	—		—		23	1
	2013–14		7	0	2	0	1	1	—		—		10	1
	2014–15		1	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		3	0
	Sheffield Wednesday Total		30	1	4	0	2	1	—		—		36	2
Portsmouth (loan)	2013–14	EFL League Two	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	4	0
Dunfermline Athletic	2015–16	Scottish League One	15	2	1	0	1	0	—		1 [a]	0	18	2
	2016–17	Scottish Championship	23	3	3	0	4	0	—		3 [a]	0	33	3
	Dunfermline Athletic Total		38	5	4	0	5	0	—		4	0	51	5
Sligo Rovers	2017	League of Ireland Premier Division	13	4	1	0	0	0	—		1 [a]	0	15	4
	2018		32	2	1	0	3	0	—		2 [a]	0	38	2
	Sligo Rovers Total		45	6	2	0	3	0	—		3	0	53	6
St Patrick's Athletic	2019	League of Ireland Premier Division	25	1	0	0	0	0	2 [b]	0	0	0	27	1
Brechin City	2019–20	Scottish League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
Queen of the South	2020–21	Scottish Championship	22	0	2	0	2	0	—		0	0	26	0
Airdrieonians	2021–22	Scottish League One	32	5	2	0	2	1	—		4 [c]	1	40	7
Career total			210	18	14	0	14	2	2	0	11	1	251	21

1. Appearance(s) and goal(s) in the Scottish Challenge Cup.
2. Appearance(s) and goal(s) in the UEFA Europa League.
3. 1 appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup & 3 appearances, 1 goal in Scottish League One Playoffs.

Managerial statistics

As of match played 18 January 2025

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Airdrieonians	26 May 2022	present	127	55	23	49	043.31

Honours

Player

Dunfermline Athletic

• Scottish League One: 2015–16 ^[38]

Airdrieonians

• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2023–24

Manager

Airdrieonians

• Scottish Championship play-offs: 2022–23 ^[39]
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2023–24 ^[40]

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
2. "Celtic U19 2–1 Rangers U19 (aet)". BBC Sport. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
3. "Youth Cup Final: Celtic 2 Rangers 1 (AET; 1–1 affter [sic] 90 mins)". Daily Record. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
4. "Blackpool 0 – 2 Rangers: Steven Davis makes it a seaside stroll for Rangers". The Scotsman. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
5. "Rangers 1 Liverpool FC 0: LFC shadow side bring home lack of European nights (GALLERY) – Liverpool Echo". 19 October 2011.
6. "The former Rangers wonderkid now plying his trade at Sligo". 29 June 2017.
7. "No 41 Rhys McCabe Rangers". Rangers F.C. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
8. "Rhys McCabe Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
9. "Rangers 1–2 Hearts". BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
10. "Rangers stun nine-man Celtic in thriller". BBC. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
11. "Rangers: Rhys McCabe joins Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
12. "Rangers: Ally McCoist bullish on club future". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
13. "Sheff Wed 2-0 Charlton". BBC. 22 December 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
14. "Rotherham 2-1 Sheff Wed". BBC. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
15. "McCabe And Toumani Sign". Portsmouth FC. 17 March 2014.
16. "Rhys McCabe recalled by Sheffield Wednesday". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 24 April 2014.
17. "McCabe released from contract". BBC Sport. 12 June 2015.
18. "Allan Johnston insists Dunfermline would be 'crazy' to let top talents move on as he eyes up Rooney and McCabe". deadlinenews.co.uk. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
19. "Rhys McCabe becomes a Par". dafc.co.uk. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
20. Robertson, Neil (18 September 2015). "Dunfermline sign former Rangers midfielder Rhys McCabe". The Courier. DC Thomson. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
21. "Stenhousemuir 0 Dunfermline 5". dafc.co.uk. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
22. "Pars ease to comfortable Ochilview victory". Dunfermline Press. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
23. "Dunfermline 3 Albion Rovers 0". dafc.co.uk. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
24. "Pars pick up 3-0 win after slow start against Albion Rovers". Dunfermline Press. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
25. "Allan Johnston eyes new faces for Dunfermline Athletic squad but midfielder Rhys McCabe agrees to join Sligo Rovers". Dunfermline Press. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
26. "St Pat's complete double swoop for Chris Forrester and Rhys McCabe". Irish Mirror. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
27. "Saints marching out – Independent.ie".
28. "QosFC: Welcome to QOS".
29. "QoS : Report – Greenock Morton 23.1.21".
30. "McCabe bolsters Diamonds midfield".
31. "Rhys McCabe named new Diamonds manager". airdrie. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
32. "Scotland U21 1–4 Italy U21". BBC Sport. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
33. "Callum's long break". dafc.co.uk. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
34. Ralston, Gary (21 August 2014). "Stirling Uni boss Shelley Kerr learned trade with the best". Daily Record. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
35. 'No reason why we won't win the league' – Airdrie boss Rhys McCabe, Jonathan Sutherland, BBC Sport, 19 October 2023
36. "Scotland – R. McCabe – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway".
37. Rhys McCabe at Soccerbase
38. McLaughlin, Brian (26 March 2016). "Dunfermline 3 – 1 Brechin City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
39. Limdsay, Clive (20 May 2023). "Hamilton Academical 2 – 1 Airdrieonians". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
40. "Airdrieonians win SPFL Trust Trophy to thwart The New Saints record". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2024.

External links

• Rhys McCabe at Soccerbase