Tam Courts Explained

Tam Courts
Birth Date:10 August 1981
Birth Place:Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Position:Full back
Youthclubs1:Lochgelly Albert Colts, Milton Green
Years1:1998–2002
Caps1:5
Goals1:0
Clubs1:Livingston
Years2:2000–2001
Caps2:25
Goals2:1
Clubs2:Cowdenbeath (loan)
Years3:2002–2004
Clubs3:Kelty Hearts
Years4:2004–2006
Clubs4:Hill of Beath Hawthorn
Years5:2006–2007
Caps5:26
Goals5:0
Clubs5:East Fife
Years6:2007
Clubs6:Hill of Beath Hawthorn (loan)
Years7:2007–2018
Clubs7:Kelty Hearts
Totalcaps:56
Totalgoals:1
Managerclubs1:Kelty Hearts
Manageryears1:2013–2018
Managerclubs2:Dundee United
Manageryears2:2021–2022
Managerclubs3:Budapest Honvéd
Manageryears3:2022

Thomas "Tam" Courts (born 10 August 1981) is a Scottish football coach and former player.

As a player, he appeared in the Scottish Football League for Livingston, Cowdenbeath and East Fife. After a previous spell at the club from 2002 to 2004, he rejoined Kelty Hearts as a player in 2007 and went on to be their player-manager from 2013 until 2018. After joining Dundee United in 2020 to work in their youth academy, he was their head coach during the 2021–22 season.

Playing career

Courts began his professional career at Livingston and made his first team debut in February 1999 against Clyde in a Scottish Football League Second Division game. With Livingston promoted as champions that year, Courts made four league appearances in the First Division the following season before departing for a loan spell at Cowdenbeath.

Courts dropped into Junior football with local Fife sides Kelty Hearts and Hill of Beath Hawthorn after his release by Livingston in 2002. A further spell in senior football with East Fife in 2006–07 ended with Courts being loaned back to Hill of Beath before joining Kelty for a second time in late 2007.

Courts has also played for the Scotland Junior international team and captained the squad in the 2013 Umbro Quadrangular Trophy in the Republic of Ireland.

Coaching career

Kelty Hearts

After the sacking of Willie Newbigging in October 2013, Courts was appointed player-manager of Kelty Hearts at the age of 32.[1] He saved the club from relegation before winning the East Region Super League title for the first time in the club's history in 2015. Kelty went onto win the title again in 2017 before joining the East of Scotland Football League.[2]

Kelty won the East of Scotland League in 2018 under Courts[3] and were promoted to the Lowland League, the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system, where they competed for the first time during the 2018–19 season.[4]

Courts retired from playing to focus on managing Kelty Hearts in the Lowland League, however he resigned his position as manager on the 11 October 2018, which the club reluctantly accepted.[5]

Dundee United

Courts joined Dundee United in February 2020 as head of tactical performance in the club's youth academy.[6] In December 2020 he was put in temporary charge of the club's first team when manager Micky Mellon and his coaching staff had to self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic,[7] overseeing a 2-0 defeat against Livingston.[8] In June 2021 Courts was appointed as the club's head coach following the departure of Mellon.[9]

Courts guided United to a fourth-place finish, and European qualification, in the 2021–22 Scottish Premiership. He was linked with Croatian club HNK Rijeka in June 2022 and soon afterwards left United by mutual consent, as he had expressed his "desire to explore other options".[10]

Budapest Honvéd

After his departure from Dundee United, Courts signed a two-year deal to become the new manager of Budapest Honvéd.[11] In an interview with Hungarian Nemzeti Sport, he said that the first match he saw in a stadium was between Celtic and Honvéd. He also added that the fact that Chris Docherty was appointed as the sports director of Honvéd contributed to his decision to accept the offer of Honvéd.[12]

On 21 August 2022, Courts-led Honvéd won for the first time in the 2022-23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season by beating Vasas SC 2-1 at Illovszky Rudolf Stadion.[13]

Although his team defeated Zalaegerszegi TE at the ZTE Arena on 22 October 2022 on the 12th match day of the season,[14] Courts left the club by mutual consent on 24 October 2022.[15] He then took an extended period away from management while completing his UEFA Pro Licence qualification.[16]

Managerial record

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamNatFromToRecord
Kelty Hearts2 October 201311 October 2018[17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]
Dundee United7 June 202114 June 2022
15 June 202224 October 2022
Total

Honours

Player

Cowdenbeath

Manager

Kelty Hearts

2014–15,[24] 2016–17[24]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tam Courts takes over at Kelty. 3 October 2013 .
  2. News: Kelty Hearts join EoS League as they follow SPFL dream. 2018-09-16. en.
  3. Web site: KELTY HEARTS WIN PROMOTION TO LOWLAND LEAGUE. Pars Review. en. 2018-09-16.
  4. Web site: The only way is up for Kelty!. The Bolton News. 18 May 2018 . en. 2018-09-16.
  5. News: Kelty Hearts Football Club on Twitter. Twitter. 2018-10-12.
  6. News: Williams . Ieuan . Former Kelty Hearts boss Thomas Courts lands United role . 3 December 2020 . Dunfermline Press . 14 February 2020.
  7. News: Roache . Ian . Dundee United's Thomas Courts opens up on dramatic 'promotion' as entire first-team coaching staff self-isolate after positive Covid-19 tests . 3 December 2020 . The Courier . 3 December 2020 . Dundee.
  8. News: Roache . Ian . Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland has not let club's pandemic problem bother him . 12 December 2020 . The Courier . 12 December 2020 . Dundee.
  9. News: Dundee United appoint Courts as manager . 7 June 2021 . BBC Sport.
  10. Web site: Tam Courts leaves position as manager of Dundee United . STV Sport . 14 June 2022 . 14 June 2022 . Andy . Coyle.
  11. Web site: TAM COURTS IS THE NEW COACH OF THE BUDAPEST HONVÉD . Budapest Honved . 15 June 2022 . 15 June 2022.
  12. Web site: TIBOR . PIETSCH . 2022-06-28 . Honvéd: Nem a szavak, a tettek embere vagyok – Tam Courts - NSO . 2022-06-29 . NSO.hu . hu.
  13. Web site: Potya gól itt és itt, megverte a Honvéd a Vasast - NSO . 2022 .
  14. Web site: Zalaegerszegi TE vs. Honvéd - 22 October 2022 - Soccerway . 2022-11-04 . int.soccerway.com.
  15. Web site: Tam Courts Dundee United exit decision backfires as he leaves Budapest Honved after TWELVE games. Daily Record. 24 October 2022.
  16. News: McDonald . Ryan . Tam Courts open to SPFL offers as ex Dundee United boss ready for dugout return . 17 May 2024 . Football Scotland . 21 February 2024.
  17. http://keltyhearts-co-uk.stackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/season-13-14.jpg
  18. http://keltyhearts-co-uk.stackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/season-14-15.jpg
  19. http://keltyhearts-co-uk.stackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/season-15-16.jpg
  20. http://keltyhearts-co-uk.stackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/season-16-17.jpg
  21. http://keltyhearts-co-uk.stackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/season-17-18.jpg
  22. http://keltyhearts-co-uk.stackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/season-18-19.jpg
  23. Web site: MATCH PREVIEW - KELTY (A) . Cowdenbeath FV . 6 July 2018 .
  24. Web site: Leaving Kelty was a Big Decision . Central Fife Times . 23 October 2018 . 30 January 2022 .
  25. Web site: Kelty Seek New Boss . Central Fife Times . 12 October 2018 . 30 January 2022 .