Gary Locke (Scottish footballer) explained

Gary Locke
Birth Date:1975 6, df=y
Birth Place:Edinburgh, Scotland
Position:Right back
Youthyears1:1991–1992
Youthclubs1:Whitehill Welfare
Years1:1992–2001
Years2:2001–2002
Years3:2002–2009
Clubs1:Heart of Midlothian
Clubs2:Bradford City
Clubs3:Kilmarnock
Caps1:153
Caps2:38
Caps3:111
Goals1:5
Goals2:2
Goals3:1
Totalcaps:302
Totalgoals:8
Nationalyears1:1996–1997
Nationalteam1:Scotland U21
Nationalcaps1:10
Nationalgoals1:0
Manageryears1:2013–2014
Managerclubs1:Heart of Midlothian
Manageryears2:2015–2016
Managerclubs2:Kilmarnock
Manageryears3:2016–2017
Managerclubs3:Raith Rovers
Manageryears4:2017
Managerclubs4:Cowdenbeath

Gary Locke (born 16 June 1975 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Locke both played for and managed Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock, and has also managed Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath. He is currently Club Ambassador at Hearts.

Playing career

Locke, a midfielder, went to Lasswade Primary and High School[1] in Bonnyrigg and started his career at Hearts before joining Bradford City in January 2001 who were at the time in the Premier League.[2] Locke finished his career at Kilmarnock where he scored once against Dunfermline.[3]

Locke picked up 10 caps for Scotland under-21s while at Hearts. Injuries were a major problem throughout Locke's career and while he was club captain when Hearts won the 1997–98 Scottish Cup, he did not play in the final due to injury.

Locke played under manager Jim Jefferies at all of his clubs. He retired aged 34, at the end of the 2008–09 season.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Locke was in line to join the Kilmarnock coaching staff, but the collapse of Setanta led to reduced TV income for SPL clubs and Kilmarnock decided they could not offer Locke a position.[4]

After Jim Jefferies was appointed Hearts manager for the second time in January 2010, Locke was appointed First Team Coach.[5] He was placed in caretaker charge of the team after the departure of John McGlynn in February 2013.[6] He was subsequently appointed on a permanent basis, on a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season. In March 2013 Locke's Hearts lost 3–2 to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup Final.[7] Hearts entered administration in June 2013, which meant that the club were placed under a transfer embargo and were deducted 15 points in the 2013–14 Scottish Premiership season. On 11 August 2013, Locke won the first Edinburgh derby in the new Scottish Premiership with a 76-minute header from striker Callum Paterson at Tynecastle Stadium.[8] Hearts were relegated to the Scottish Championship at the end of the season and new owner Ann Budge decided not to retain Locke.[9]

In June 2014, Locke returned to Kilmarnock as assistant manager.[10] He was put in caretaker charge of the team after Allan Johnston left Kilmarnock in February 2015.[11] Locke was then appointed on a permanent basis in April 2015.[12] He resigned from the Kilmarnock job on 30 January 2016, with the club sitting second-bottom of the 2015–16 Scottish Premiership.[13]

Following the departure of Ray McKinnon to Dundee United, Locke was appointed manager of Scottish Championship side Raith Rovers in May 2016, signing on a two-year deal.[14] After a run of 14 games without a win, Locke was sacked by the club on 7 February 2017 after a 1–0 loss to Greenock Morton.[15]

Shortly after leaving Kirkcaldy, Locke was appointed manager of fellow Fife club Cowdenbeath.[16] After helping Cowdenbeath avoid a third successive relegation by winning a playoff with East Kilbride, Locke left the club during the close season to take an ambassadorial role with Hearts.[17]

Managerial statistics

TeamFromToRecord
PWDLWin%[18]
Heart of Midlothian28 February 201312 May 2014
Kilmarnock6 February 201530 January 2016
Raith Rovers20 May 20167 February 2017
Cowdenbeath10 March 20171 July 2017
Total

Managerial achievements

Cowdenbeath

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Scottish Education Awards . . 12 February 2010.
  2. Web site: Bradford in talks with Locke. BBC. 24 January 2001 . 31 December 2012.
  3. Web site: Kilmarnock 4–0 Dunfermline. BBC. 21 May 2005 . 31 December 2012.
  4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/k/kilmarnock/8172753.stm Killie withdraw Locke coach offer
  5. Web site: Brown and Locke join Hearts. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100215221854/http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/articles/20100212/brown-and-locke-join-hearts_2241384_1955455 . 15 February 2010. Hearts. 8 January 2010.
  6. Web site: John McGlynn departs Hearts manager position . BBC Sport . BBC . 28 February 2013 . 28 February 2013.
  7. Web site: St Mirren 3–2 Hearts . BBC Sport . BBC . 17 March 2013 . 17 March 2013.
  8. Web site: Hearts: Peter Houston was offered manager terms.
  9. Web site: Craig Levein lands Hearts role as boss Gary Locke exits . BBC Sport . BBC . Brian . McLauchlin . 12 May 2014 . 12 May 2014.
  10. News: Gary Locke becomes assistant manager at Kilmarnock . BBC Sport . BBC . 20 June 2014 . 20 June 2014.
  11. Web site: Allan Johnston: Kilmarnock manager relieved of duties . BBC Sport . BBC . 6 February 2015 . 6 February 2015.
  12. Web site: Kilmarnock: Gary Locke confirmed as permanent manager . BBC Sport . BBC . 3 April 2015 . 3 April 2015.
  13. Web site: Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke resigns after Hamilton loss . BBC Sport . BBC . 30 January 2016 . 30 January 2016.
  14. Web site: Raith Rovers: Gary Locke is new manager at Stark's Park . BBC Sport . BBC . 20 May 2016 . 20 May 2016.
  15. News: Raith Rovers sack Gary Locke and assistant Darren Jackson "with immediate effect" . Tony . Clerkson . The Daily Record . 7 February 2017 . 7 February 2017.
  16. Web site: New Managerial Appointment . Cowdenbeath FC . 10 March 2017 . 10 March 2017.
  17. News: Gary Locke leaves Cowdenbeath to rejoin Hearts . Edinburgh Evening News . 1 July 2017 . 1 July 2017 . Barry . Anderson.
  18. Win% is rounded to two decimal places