Whitburn F.C.

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Whitburn F.C.
Whitburn FC logo.png
Full nameWhitburn Football Club
Nickname(s)The Burnie
Founded1930 as Whitburn Amateurs, turned Junior c.June 1934
GroundCentral Park
East Main Street
Whitburn
Capacity4,000
Co-managersVacant
League East of Scotland League Premier Division
2024–25 East of Scotland League Premier Division, 7th of 16

Whitburn Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Whitburn, West Lothian. They play their home games at Central Park and currently compete in the East of Scotland League Premier Division

Contents

History

Formed on 31 May 1930 as Whitburn Amateurs F.C., they turned Junior over the summer months of 1934.

Nicknamed The Burnie, the club's colours are claret and amber. The club have won the Scottish Junior Cup on one occasion, defeating Johnstone Burgh on penalties in the 1999–00 final, [1] as well as being runners up on two other occasions losing to Bonnyrigg Rose in 1966, and to Camelon in 1995.

Whitburn moved to the East of Scotland Football League and joined the bottom tier ahead of the 2021–22 season. They won back-to-back titles in Conference X and then the Second Division [2] , followed by a third successive promotion by a securing their spot in the Premier Division for 2024–25.

After victories in the Alex Jack Cup and Victory Shield in 2024-25 they qualified for the preliminary round of the Scottish Cup for the first time. On August 9th, 2025 Whitburn defeated Scottish Amateur Cup winners Stein Thistle AFC 3.2 to qualify for the 2nd preliminary round were they will take on Scottish Junior Cup winners Johnstone Burgh for a place in the first round proper.

In 1997-98 season, the side managed by Brian Fairley managed to win 4 trophies in what was a very successful season which also saw 8 players capped for Scotland juniors.

Brian McNaughton was the manager when Whitburn finally lifted the Scottish Cup at the third attempt in May 2000 with Stevie Prior the heroic goalscorer. The team was also managed from 2014 to 2016 by former St Mirren boss Tom Hendrie. [3]

In season 2021-22, Whitburn joined the East of Scotland Senior League, starting in the bottom tier along with the remaining Junior clubs who had resisted the exodus, and Junior football was no more although the club kept the Juniors part in their official name.

After two league title victories in a row, Whitburn find themselves in the East of Scotland Premier Division just below the Lowland League and potential league football in the future if successful.

Although he never ended up playing for the club, Rangers legend John Greig famously signed a white form with Whitburn Juniors in 1959, which allowed him to play for the club if he didn't succeed at Ibrox.

Other notable figures include internationalists like Paul Taylor and Bruce Clouston who played for the Scotland Junior team, and the legendary long-serving player Dewi Taylor who scored 73 goals in over 200 appearances and had a significant impact on the club's success.

Club staff

Board of directors

RoleName
Secretary Flag of Scotland.svg Ann Haddow
Club Official Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Cook
Club Official Flag of Scotland.svg Steven Greer

Coaching staff

RoleName
Co-managers Flag of Scotland.svg Vacant
Coach Flag of Scotland.svg Gavin King
Physio Flag of Scotland.svg Archie Gilmour
Kit man Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Haddow

Source

Current squad

As of 31st May 2024 [4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
GK Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Daniel Farrell
GK Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Blair Gallagher
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Ethan Kerr
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Stephan Murray
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Alister Croall
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Andrew Gillen
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Michael McGarahan
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Sammy Watson
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Darren Tomaszewski
DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Lennon Watson
No.Pos.NationPlayer
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Callum Bremner
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Steven Clark
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Callum Hambrook
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO John James Henderson
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Flynn McCafferty
MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Andrew Thomson
FW Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Ross Crawford
FW Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Darren Liddell
FW Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Cammy Graham
FW Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Harrison Edwards
FW Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Dewi Taylor

Managerial history

 
NameNationalityYears
William Strickland Flag of Scotland.svg 1951-? [5]
Colin Sinclair Flag of Scotland.svg 1986-? [6]
George Fairley Flag of Scotland.svg 1988-? [7]
Derek Strickland Flag of Scotland.svg 1992-94 [8]
Brian McNaughton
Keith Burgess
Flag of Scotland.svg 1994-1996 [9]
Brian Fairley Flag of Scotland.svg 1996-1999 [10]
Brian McNaughton Flag of Scotland.svg 1999-2000
Derek Strickland Flag of Scotland.svg 2013-? [11]
Derek Halcrow Flag of Scotland.svg 2009-? [12]
Tom Hendrie Flag of Scotland.svg 2014-2016 [13]
Colin Martin Flag of Scotland.svg 2016-? [14]
Jamie Sandilands Flag of Scotland.svg 2020-2021 [15]
Darren Wilson Flag of Scotland.svg 2021-2024 [16]
John Millar Flag of Scotland.svg 2024-2025 [17]

c Caretaker manager

¹

Honours

Scottish Junior Cup

Other honours

References

  1. "Prior sparks Whitburn glory". The Herald . 29 May 2000. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. Carson, Callum (24 May 2023). "Whitburn boss hopes consecutive title success has made community proud". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  3. "Whitburn on the hunt for new boss after Tom Hendrie is sacked". 11 October 2016.
  4. "Whitburn FC - Squad list". www.whitburnjfc.org.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  5. "WHITBURN". 11 May 1951.
  6. "46 COURIER Friday June 13 1986 Courier Sport: Touchline Topics Pool Golf Tae Kwon Do THIS week saw the final". 13 June 1986.
  7. "jd COURIER Friday June 23 1989 Courier Sport: Football Angling Cricket Rose wilt in league decider HASN'T it ." 23 June 1989.
  8. "s't w Courier Friday OCTOBER 2 1992 47 COURIER SPORT Results & Junior Results Charlie Bain Fire and Lothians Cup". 2 October 1992.
  9. "Whitburn Juniors Club History".
  10. "29 January 1999". 29 January 1999.
  11. "Strickland eyes away glory for Whitburn". 26 November 2009.
  12. "New Whitburn boss Derek Halcrow comes home". 4 April 2013.
  13. "Whitburn on the hunt for new boss after Tom Hendrie is sacked". 11 October 2016.
  14. "Whitburn FC". Facebook . 5 November 2016.
  15. "New Whitburn boss Jamie Sandilands aims to challenge for trophies in debut season". 15 July 2020.
  16. "Whitburn boss pays tribute to unsung heroes after club's East of Scotland Conference X title success". 30 May 2022.
  17. "John Millar announced as new manager". Broxburn FC. 31 August 2025.
  18. "East of Scotland Junior Cup". sfha.org.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  19. "Inter-Regional Junior Cups". sfha.org.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2025.

55°51′58″N3°40′58″W / 55.866°N 3.68277°W / 55.866; -3.68277