Callum Davidson

Callum Iain Davidson (born 25 June 1976 in Stirling) is a Scottish professional football player and coach who was most recently the manager of St Johnstone.

Callum Davidson
Personal information
Full name Callum Iain Davidson[1]
Date of birth (1976-06-25) 25 June 1976
Place of birth Stirling, Scotland
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1998 St Johnstone 43 (4)
1998–2000 Blackburn Rovers 66 (1)
2000–2004 Leicester City 101 (2)
2004–2011 Preston North End 166 (21)
2011–2014 St Johnstone 47 (1)
Total 423 (29)
International career
1998–2009 Scotland 19 (0)
Managerial career
2014 St Johnstone (caretaker)
2020–2023 St Johnstone
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Davidson played as a left-back for St Johnstone, Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City and Preston North End between 1994 and 2014. At international level, Davidson represented Scotland on 19 occasions between 1998 and 2009. Since retiring as a player, Davidson has become a football coach, and was given his first full-time role in management with St Johnstone in June 2020. He won both domestic cup competitions in his first season as St Johnstone manager, a position he left in April 2023.

Early life

Davidson grew up in Dunblane and attended Dunblane High School from 1988 to 1994, for which he captained the football team. His performances for the team led to his being scouted. He also played tennis at the school, and was part of the team that won the Scottish Schools Championship, where he was coached under Judy Murray.[3] He also represented Scotland in golf.[3]

Club career

Davidson was scouted and subsequently signed by St Johnstone. His performances for the Perth club attracted interest from Premiership clubs, resulting in a move to Blackburn Rovers in February 1998 for £1.75m, a St Johnstone club record. He spent two years at Ewood Park, making 66 League appearances and scoring once, against West Ham United.[4]

Davidson joined Leicester City in July 2000, for a fee of £2.75m, and he remained with the Foxes for four years, making over 100 appearances. He was signed by Preston North End in 2004 on a free transfer and was later appointed club captain. His time at Deepdale was dominated by recurring injury problems, but he still managed to make over 160 appearances for Preston.

On 26 May 2011, Davidson rejoined his first professional club St Johnstone[5] on a one-year deal on a free transfer after being released from Preston North End earlier in the year. He made his debut on 23 July against Aberdeen.[6] He scored his first goal for St Johnstone in a 3–1 win over Dunfermline on 25 February 2012.[7] St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown had initially indicated the club would not be offering Davidson a new contract due to his age, with Davidson's form forcing him into a rethink.[8] Davidson extended his contract with St Johnstone for another season in March 2012.[9][10]

International career

Davidson made his first full international appearance for Scotland in September 1998, in a goalless draw with Lithuania.[11] He played regularly during the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, including the second leg of the play-off tie with England.[11][12] After six years out of the national team, he was included in George Burley's squad to face Northern Ireland in August 2008,[13] but did not play. He then started in a 4–0 defeat against Norway in August 2009.[14] Davidson ended up winning 19 caps in total, with his final appearance being in a 2–0 win against Macedonia in September 2009.[11]

Coaching career

Davidson was appointed assistant manager of St Johnstone in June 2013, while retaining his registration as a player.[15] He did not make any playing appearances in the 2013–14 season, during which St Johnstone won the 2013–14 Scottish Cup. Davidson temporarily took charge of the team in March 2014, while manager Tommy Wright was in hospital having a gall bladder operation.[16] He was added to the coaching staff of the Scotland national football team during 2017.[17]

Davidson left St Johnstone in June 2018, when he became a first-team coach at Stoke City.[18][19] Davidson linked up with Gary Rowett, who had been his teammate at Leicester.[18] Rowett and Davidson both left Stoke on 8 January 2019.[20]

In February 2019, Davidson became first-team coach at Dunfermline Athletic.[21] He left this position in the summer of 2019, and was then appointed assistant manager of Millwall in October 2019 (again working with Gary Rowett).[22]

St. Johnstone

He was appointed manager of St Johnstone in June 2020, succeeding Tommy Wright.[23] He won the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup double in his first season in charge, beating Livingston and Hibernian in the finals 1–0 respectively. [24][25] The team struggled in 2021–22 and only avoided relegation by winning a play-off against Championship club Inverness. They again struggled during the 2022–23 season, and Davidson was sacked in April 2023.[26]

Career statistics

International
Scotland[11]
YearAppsGoals
199830
199980
200020
200120
200220
200920
Total190

Managerial record
As of match played 15 April 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecord
GWDLWin %Ref.
St Johnstone1 June 202016 April 2023 136 42 37 57 030.88
Total 136 42 37 57 030.88 —

Honours

Manager

St Johnstone

Individual

St Johnstone

References
  1. "Callum Davidson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. "Callum Davidson | Preston North End | Team | Profiles". Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. Spiers, Graham (15 February 2014). "Spiers on Saturday: meeting Callum Davidson, a man of many sports". The Herald. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. "Flitcroft finds his range for Rovers". Independent. 4 October 1998. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  5. "St Johnstone Football Club – News Archive". Perthstjohnstonefc.co.uk. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. "Aberdeen v St.Johnstone". BBC Sport. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  7. "St Johnstone 3 – 1 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  8. "Callum Davidson's form could be rewarded". The Courier. DC Thomson.
  9. "Callum Davidson agrees new St Johnstone deal". STV. STV Group. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016.
  10. "Callum Davidson agrees new St Johnstone contract". BBC Sport. 16 March 2012.
  11. Callum Davidson at the Scottish Football Association
  12. Anderson, Barry (6 June 2017). "Callum Davidson on night Scotland stood up to Beckham and Scholes". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  13. "Commons and Barr given Scots call". BBC Sport. 12 August 2008.
  14. Lindsay, Clive (12 August 2009). "Norway 4–0 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  15. "St Johnstone appoint Tommy Wright as new manager". BBC Sport. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  16. "St Johnstone: Tommy Wright expected back in charge". BBC Sport. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  17. "Callum Davidson: St Johnstone assistant manager joins Scotland coaching staff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  18. "Callum Davidson: Stoke City boss Gary Rowett to appoint Scot as number two". BBC Sport. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  19. "Gary on his backroom team". Stoke City. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  20. "Gary Rowett sacked by Stoke City". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  21. "DAVIDSON JOINS DAFC". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  22. Seddon, Dave (22 October 2019). "Ex-Preston North End captain Callum Davidson lands new role with Millwall". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  23. McLauchlin, Brian (18 June 2020). "Callum Davidson: St Johnstone appoint former player as boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  24. Lindsay, Clive (28 February 2021). "Livingston 0–1 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  25. "St Johnstone: Is cup double the greatest season in Scottish football?". BBC Sport. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  26. Cassidy, Peter (16 April 2023). "St Johnstone sack manager Callum Davidson after six games without a win". STV News. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  27. St Johnstone 1–0 Hibernian – BBC Sport, 22 May 2021
  28. "DAVIDSON VOTED MANAGER OF THE MONTH". spfl.co.uk. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
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