Neil McCann

Neil Doherty McCann (born 11 August 1974 in Greenock, Inverclyde) is a former Scottish professional footballer who is currently interim manager of Scottish Premiership club Dundee. McCann has also recently worked as a pundit for Sky Sports.

His professional career saw him play for Dundee (two spells), Heart of Midlothian (two spells), Rangers, Southampton and Falkirk. He also played 26 times for the Scotland national football team.

McCann started his career with Dundee before moving on to Heart of Midlothian in 1996. He helped the Tynecastle side win the Scottish Cup in 1998, their first major trophy in 36 years. McCann moved to Rangers later that year for £1.9 million, becoming the club's first major Scottish Catholic signing since Mo Johnston. He scored two goals against Rangers' arch-rivals Celtic on 2 May 1999 to clinch the SPL title. In 2003 Rangers were forced to sell him due to their financial problems.

He joined Southampton on 5 August 2003, for £1.5 million. A series of injuries made it difficult for him to maintain his place in the team. McCann scored one goal for Southampton, in a League Cup tie against Northampton Town. His contract with Southampton was terminated by mutual consent in January 2006.

On 17 January 2006, McCann rejoined Hearts. He sustained a serious injury while playing in his first match since returning to Hearts against Kilmarnock, meaning he missed their victory in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final. He returned from injury for the UEFA Champions League qualifier against Široki Brijeg of Bosnia. However, on 25 August 2007, he suffered a double leg break during Hearts' loss to Celtic in a tackle on Scott Brown. Brown was unharmed in the tackle.

On 14 May 2008, it was announced that McCann had signed for SPL rivals Falkirk. He scored on his debut against former club Hearts, and then scored twice for Falkirk in League Cup ties against Queen of the South and Inverness. He also played for Falkirk in the 2009 Scottish Cup Final. He was released on 22 August 2009 after managerial changes at Falkirk, with outgoing manager John Hughes (the manager that signed him) being replaced by Eddie May.

On 12 February 2011, McCann came out of retirement to help Dundee stave-off relegation. He scored a last minute goal in his first appearance, against Raith Rovers.

He made his debut for Scotland on 5 September 1998, as a late substitute for Ally McCoist in a 0–0 draw away to Lithuania. His first appearance in the starting line-up was on 31 March 1999 in a 2–1 home defeat to the Czech Republic. He scored three goals for Scotland, including two in consecutive matches in September 2003 during the qualifying rounds for Euro 2004. He continued to play regularly for Scotland until November 2005.

McCann joined Dunfermline Athletic as a coach in July 2012, initially on a voluntary basis. The club entered administration in March 2013 and suffered a second successive relegation. When Dunfermline exited administration in December 2013, manager Jim Jefferies and McCann were both offered new contracts. Jefferies retired early in December 2014, leaving McCann and John Potter in charge of the team. On 30 April 2015, McCann decided to leave Dunfermline.

McCann's first managerial position came at Scottish Premiership side Dundee, where he was appointed on an interim basis on 18 April 2017.

International

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 September 2000	Skonto Stadions, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	1–0	1–0	2002 WC Qualifying
2	6 September 2003	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Faroe Islands	1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
3	10 September 2003	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Germany	1–2	1–2	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.

After leaving Falkirk, McCann became a pundit for Sky Sports, providing analysis on their coverage of football in Scotland.

• Scottish Cup: 1998

• Scottish Premier League: 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03
• Scottish Cup: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
• Scottish League Cup: 2002, 2003