Scottish professional football manager and former player
Callum Iain Davidson
(born 25 June 1976 in
Stirling
) is a Scottish professional
football
player and coach who manages
Scottish Championship
club
Queen's Park
.
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
[
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]
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
[
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]
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
[
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]
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
[
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]
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
[
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]
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]
Queen's Park
[
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]
Davidson was appointed
head coach
of
Scottish Championship
club
Queen's Park
on 9 January 2024.
[27]
Career statistics
[
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]
International
[
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]
Scotland
[11]
|
Year
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
1998
|
3
|
0
|
1999
|
8
|
0
|
2000
|
2
|
0
|
2001
|
2
|
0
|
2002
|
2
|
0
|
2009
|
2
|
0
|
Total
|
19
|
0
|
Managerial record
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]
- As of match played 3 May 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team
|
From
|
To
|
Record
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
St Johnstone
|
1 June 2020
|
16 April 2023
|
136
|
42
|
37
|
57
|
0
30.88
|
|
Queen's Park
|
9 January 2024
|
Present
|
17
|
7
|
5
|
5
|
0
41.18
|
|
Total
|
153
|
49
|
42
|
62
|
0
32.03
|
?
|
Honours
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]
Manager
[
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]
St Johnstone
Individual
[
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]
St Johnstone
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]