Colin Nish

Colin John Nish (born 7 March 1981) is a Scottish former football player, coach and manager. Nish played for Dunfermline Athletic, Alloa Athletic, Clyde, Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Hartlepool United, Dundee, Dumbarton and Cowdenbeath. Whilst playing for Cowdenbeath, Nish was appointed player-manager of the Fife club. Following their relegation to Scottish League Two, Nish's contract was terminated.[2] He subsequently managed Tranent Juniors for the 2022-23 season.

This article is about the Scottish footballer. For the Australian rules footballer, see Colin Nish (Australian footballer).

Colin Nish
Nish playing for Hibernian in 2011
Personal information
Full name Colin John Nish[1]
Date of birth (1981-03-07) 7 March 1981
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1997–1999 Dunfermline Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2003 Dunfermline Athletic 22 (0)
2000 → Alloa Athletic (loan) 13 (5)
2000–2001 → Alloa Athletic (loan) 10 (3)
2002–2003 → Clyde (loan) 15 (5)
2003–2008 Kilmarnock 145 (40)
2008–2011 Hibernian 98 (22)
2011–2013 Hartlepool United 19 (4)
2012–2013 → Dundee (loan) 24 (2)
2013–2015 Dumbarton 53 (8)
2015–2016 Cowdenbeath 17 (4)
Total 416 (93)
Managerial career
2015–2016 Cowdenbeath
2022–2023 Tranent Juniors
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Nish grew up in Musselburgh and was a fan of Hibernian.[3]

Playing career

Dunfermline Athletic

Nish started his career with Dunfermline, where he made his debut in the 1998–99 season. Nish had two subsequent loan spells with Alloa[4] and a loan spell at Clyde.

Kilmarnock

Nish joined Kilmarnock in 2003 after being released by Dunfermline.[5] Nish initially signed a six-month deal which ran until Christmas 2003, at which point he agreed a new 18-month contract.[6]

Hibernian

In October 2007 Nish rejected Kilmarnock's offer of a new contract which meant that he was able to talk to other clubs from January 2008, with a view to a Bosman transfer in the summer. Nish signed a pre-contract with boyhood heroes Hibernian and the next day the two clubs agreed a deal to transfer Nish immediately.[7] Nish made his debut for Hibernian on 9 February 2008, in a 1–1 draw to Dundee United.[8] Nish scored his first goal for Hibernian ten minutes into his home debut against Gretna at Easter Road.[9]

Towards the end of the 2009–10 season, Nish described the Hibernian fans as "moaners" following an Edinburgh derby defeat.[3] Nish soon apologised for those remarks, calling for unity between players and supporters ahead of an important match against Motherwell.[3] Nish scored a hat-trick in the first half of that match, yet Hibernian only managed a 6–6 draw, in the highest scoring SPL match in league history.[10] Nish then scored both goals in a 2–0 win at Tannadice Park that secured a UEFA Europa League place for Hibernian.

Early in the 2010–11 season, however, Nish was again the target for criticism from the Hibernian fans, with manager Colin Calderwood expressing his sympathy for the player.[11] Nish was allowed to train with Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda during January 2011, but Nish then decided to stay at Easter Road.[12] The signings of Akpo Sodje and Ricardo Vaz Tê pushed Nish out of the Hibernian starting eleven and he was advised in April 2011 that his contract would not be renewed.[12][13]

Hartlepool United

Nish signed for Hartlepool United on a free transfer on 27 June 2011.[14] Nish missed a penalty in Hartlepool's League Cup first round penalty shoot-out defeat to Sheffield United.[15] Nish scored his first goal for Hartlepool in the 1–1 draw against Walsall on 13 August 2011.[16] Nish then scored two goals in a 3–0 win over Bury during the month of September.[17] Nish sustained an injury against Charlton in October 2011 that prevented him from playing for two months, during which time Hartlepool appointed a new manager.[17] Nish did not feature often under the club's new manager Neale Cooper, a former player of Aberdeen and Rangers.[18]

Nish's former club Kilmarnock attempted to sign Nish on loan during August 2012, after Paul Heffernan suffered an injury but were unfortunately unable to secure his services.[18][19] Dundee signed Nish on loan until January 2013.[20] Nish scored two goals for a struggling Dundee team during his initial loan spell, which was extended until the end of the 2012–13 season.[21] Hartlepool announced on 7 May 2013 that Nish's contract would not be renewed for the 2013–14 season.[22]

Dumbarton

Nish signed for Scottish Championship club Dumbarton in August 2013.[23] As well as playing for the first team, Nish would also be in-charge of Dumbarton's under-19s.[23] Nish scored one goal and created another in his debut for Dumbarton, in a 3–1 win over Morton on 24 August 2013.[24] On 26 June 2014 Nish signed a new one-year deal with the Sons following a productive second half to the season which included the goal which took the Sons to their first Scottish Cup quarter final in over 30 years.[25] Nish departed Dumbarton in January 2015.[26]

Cowdenbeath

Nish joined Scottish Championship club Cowdenbeath in January 2015 on an 18-month contract following his release from Dumbarton.[27]

Coaching career

On 2 June 2015, Nish was named as the new player-manager of Scottish League One club Cowdenbeath, following the resignation of Jimmy Nicholl.[28] Nish's tenure lasted only one season however, with the club suffering their second successive relegation, this time to Scottish League Two. His contract was terminated in May 2016, less than a year after his appointment.[2]

He then took a position coaching youth players at Hibernian.[29] After a few years of coaching Hibernian youth and reserve teams, Nish became the manager of Lowland League side Tranent Juniors in September 2022.[30] He subsequently left the club when his contract ended in May 2023.[31]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 7 May 2016[28]
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Cowdenbeath 2 June 2015 12 May 2016 43 13 7 23 030.23

See also

References
  1. "Colin Nish". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  2. "Cowdenbeath on the hunt for new manager after parting company with Colin Nish". The Courier. DC Thomson. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. "Nish apologises to Hibernian fans for outburst". STV. 4 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  4. More to follow as Nish moves, BBC Sport, 27 October 2000
  5. Killie snap up Hardie, BBC Sport, 7 July 2003
  6. Nish signs new Killie deal, BBC Sport, 18 December 2003
  7. "Hibs do deals for Nish and Zarabi". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  8. "Dundee United 1–1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  9. "Hibernian 4–2 Gretna". BBC Sport. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  10. "Dirty Dozen battle for Europe and break SPL record". STV. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  11. "Hibernian manager Calderwood wants support for Nish". BBC Sport. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  12. McCafferty, Gavin (13 April 2011). "New Derek Adams ban as Colin Nish faces Hibs exit". The Scotsman. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  13. "Hibernian to release 10 players". BBC Sport. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  14. "Pools clinch Nish deal". Sky Sports. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  15. "Hartlepool vs Sheffield Utd". Hartlepool United FC. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  16. "Hartlepool 1 - 1 Walsall". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  17. Schweitzer-Thompson, Alex (7 December 2011). "Ex-Hibee enjoying life in League One but admits to unfinished business in SPL". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  18. "Old boy Nish on Shiels' radar as Kilmarnock look for firepower". sport.scotsman.com. Johnston Press. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  19. Spence, Jim (21 August 2012). "Dundee hold talks with Hartlepool striker Colin Nish". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  20. "Colin Nish joins Dundee on loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  21. "Dundee: Striker Colin Nish extends loan deal from Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  22. "Six head for Hartlepool exit". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  23. "Dumbarton: Colin Nish signs as player-coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  24. "Dumbarton 3 – 1 Morton: Colin Nish scores on debut". Scotland on Sunday. Johnston Publishing. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  25. Dumbarton FC
  26. "Striker Departs the Rock". Dumbarton FC. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  27. Cowdenbeath FC
  28. "Cowdenbeath name Colin Nish as new player/manager". The Courier. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  29. Hardie, David (18 February 2017). "Colin Nish back at Hibs as a youth coach". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  30. "Tranent appoint former Hibs striker and coach as new manager after resignation of Calum Elliot". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  31. "Tranent Juniors and Colin Nish part company". East Lothian Courier. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
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