![]() O'Donnell in 2015 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Stephen Gerard O'Donnell [1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 11 May 1992||
Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Right-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Motherwell | ||
Number | 2 | ||
Youth career | |||
1998–2002 | Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers | ||
2002–2009 | Aberdeen | ||
2009–2011 | Celtic | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2015 | Partick Thistle | 121 | (9) |
2015–2017 | Luton Town | 60 | (1) |
2017–2020 | Kilmarnock | 101 | (5) |
2020– | Motherwell | 155 | (2) |
International career‡ | |||
2013 | Scotland U21 | 1 | (0) |
2018–2022 | Scotland | 26 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:09, 10 March 2023 (UTC) |
Stephen Gerard O'Donnell (born 11 May 1992) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Partick Thistle, Luton Town and Kilmarnock, and was capped once by the Scotland under-21 team in 2013 before being selected 26 times at full level from 2018, including at the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.
A pupil at St Aidan's High School in Wishaw, [3] O'Donnell began his career as a youth player with Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers and captained the Aberdeen under-17 team. [4] He then joined Celtic, [5] where he was part of the team that won the Scottish Youth Cup [6] and under-19 league title in 2010–11.
O'Donnell was released by Celtic in 2011 [7] and on 23 August 2011 signed for Partick Thistle on a one-year contract after impressing on trial. [8] He went on to make his debut on 17 September as a substitute in a 4–0 win at home to Ayr United. [9] In 2012–13, O'Donnell played in 38 matches as Partick Thistle won promotion to the Scottish Premiership and reached the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup. [9] He was named in the PFA Scotland First Division Team of the Year as a result of his performances. [10]
On 27 January 2015, Championship club Blackpool upped an initial offer of £50,000 for O'Donnell to £125,000. [11] This offer was accepted by Partick Thistle; however, O'Donnell rejected the personal terms on offer at Blackpool in favour of seeing out the remaining six months of his contract. [12] He left Partick Thistle upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2014–15 season, [13] having made 139 appearances for the club. [9]
On 22 June 2015, O'Donnell signed a two-year contract with League Two club Luton Town. [13] He made his Luton debut in a 3–1 win at home to newly promoted Championship club Bristol City in the League Cup on 11 August. [14] O'Donnell's first goal for the club was a 90th-minute winner in a 2–1 win at home to Leyton Orient in the Football League Trophy on 1 September. [15] He finished the 2015–16 season with 33 appearances and one goal. [16] O'Donnell netted his second Luton goal in 2016–17 from a 25-yard shot in a 1–1 draw at home to Yeovil Town on 13 August 2016. [17]
However, a loss of form saw O'Donnell lose his place in the team to academy graduate James Justin after a 2–0 defeat away to Crawley Town on 17 September. [18] He regained his place in the team to make his first league start in five matches after Justin suffered a calf injury in the warm up before Luton's 2–1 win away to Leyton Orient on 15 October. [19] O'Donnell lost his place once more when Justin returned from injury for Luton's 3–1 win away to Exeter City in the FA Cup on 5 November, but a half-time substitute appearance in the next round at home to National League club Solihull Moors on 3 December saw him score twice as Luton overturned a 2–0 deficit to win 6–2. [20] He was then recalled to the starting lineup by manager Nathan Jones for the subsequent league match at home to Carlisle United, which resulted in a 1–1 draw. [21] O'Donnell was released when his contract expired at the end of 2016–17. [22]
O'Donnell signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock on 4 July 2017. [23] O'Donnell performed well following the appointment of Steve Clarke as Kilmarnock manager, and he was selected for the Scotland squad in May 2018. Kilmarnock offered O'Donnell a new three-year contract in August 2019, but he opted to evaluate his contract situation at the end of the season. [24] During January 2020 Oxford United made an offer for O'Donnell, [25] but a deal was not completed before the closure of the transfer window. He rejected a new contract with Kilmarnock at the end of the 2019–20 season. [26]
On 13 August 2020, Motherwell announced the signing of O'Donnell on a contract until the next transfer window. [27] On 1 February 2021, he agreed a new contract with Motherwell until the end of the season. [28] On 13 April 2021, O'Donnell signed a new two-year contract with Motherwell, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2023. [29]
On 3 June 2024, Motherwell announced that O'Donnell had signed a new two-year contract with the club. [30] On 18 March 2025, Motherwell announced that they had triggered their one-year contract extension with O'Donnell. [31]
O'Donnell made one appearance for the Scotland under-21 team in February 2013. [32] He received his first call-up to the Scotland national team in May 2018, for friendly matches against Peru and Mexico. [33] O'Donnell made his full Scotland debut on 29 May 2018, in a 2–0 defeat to Peru. [34] He retained his place in the squad for the matches in September 2018, and "excelled" in the 2–0 win against Albania on 10 September. [35]
O'Donnell was selected in the Scotland squad for UEFA Euro 2020 and played in all three of their matches at the tournament. [36] His performance in the opening game against the Czech Republic was criticised, but was then praised after the goalless draw against England in the second match. [36] In September 2021 he gained his 23rd cap overall and 12th as a Motherwell player in a 1–0 away win over Austria during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification; [37] as well as being praised for aspects of his performance against the highly regarded David Alaba, he also equalled a long-standing Motherwell club caps record set by George Stevenson in the 1930s. [38]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Partick Thistle | 2011–12 [9] | Scottish First Division | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
2012–13 [9] | Scottish First Division | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 [a] | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
2013–14 [39] | Scottish Premiership | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
2014–15 [40] | Scottish Premiership | 34 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 5 | |
Total | 121 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 139 | 10 | ||
Luton Town | 2015–16 [16] | EFL League Two | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 [b] | 1 | 33 | 1 |
2016–17 [41] | EFL League Two | 30 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 [c] | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
Total | 60 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 72 | 4 | ||
Kilmarnock | 2017–18 [42] | Scottish Premiership | 36 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 44 | 4 | |
2018–19 [43] | Scottish Premiership | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | ||
2019–20 [44] | Scottish Premiership | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 [d] | 0 | 35 | 3 | |
Total | 101 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 122 | 7 | ||
Motherwell | 2020–21 [45] | Scottish Premiership | 34 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 [d] | 1 | 41 | 3 |
2021–22 [46] | Scottish Premiership | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||
2022–23 [47] | Scottish Premiership | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
2023–24 [48] | Scottish Premiership | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
2024–25 [49] | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
Total | 136 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 163 | 5 | ||
Career total | 418 | 17 | 26 | 5 | 35 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 496 | 26 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Scotland | 2018 | 6 | 0 |
2019 | 5 | 0 | |
2020 | 5 | 0 | |
2021 | 8 | 0 | |
2022 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 26 | 0 |
Partick Thistle
Individual