Darren McGregor explained

Fullname:Darren McGregor
Birth Date:1985 8, df=y
Birth Place:Edinburgh, Scotland
Height:1.83m (06feet)[1]
Currentclub:Hibernian (coach)
Position:Defender
Years1:2004–2006
Caps1:31
Goals1:1
Clubs1:Cowdenbeath
Years2:2006–2008
Clubs2:Arniston Rangers
Years3:2008–2010
Caps3:51
Goals3:6
Clubs3:Cowdenbeath
Years4:2010–2014
Caps4:83
Goals4:4
Clubs4:St Mirren
Years5:2014–2015
Caps5:36
Goals5:4
Clubs5:Rangers
Years6:2015–2023
Caps6:138
Goals6:5
Clubs6:Hibernian
Totalcaps:339
Totalgoals:20

Darren McGregor (born 7 August 1985) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently a coach at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian.

McGregor has had two spells with Cowdenbeath during his career. In his first spell he made his professional debut before being released and then plying his trade in junior football with Arniston Rangers in Midlothian. McGregor returned to Cowdenbeath in 2008.

He then played with St Mirren for four years, during when he suffered two serious knee injuries. After one season with Rangers, McGregor signed for Hibernian in 2015. He helped them win the Scottish Cup in 2016 and promotion in 2016–17.

Career

Cowdenbeath

His senior career started with Cowdenbeath, where he played a role in the side that won the 2005–06 Scottish Third Division championship.[2] McGregor was released at the end of that season and spent two years in junior football, before returning to Cowdenbeath at the start of the 2008–09 season.[2] He played an important role over the next two seasons as the team were promoted to the Scottish First Division.

St Mirren

On 15 June 2010, McGregor followed ex-Cowdenbeath manager Danny Lennon to St Mirren, joining the side on a two-year contract.[3] He made his SPL debut on 14 August 2010 in a 1–1 draw with Dundee United[4] and scored his first goal for the club in a Scottish League Cup game against Ross County on 25 August 2010.[5]

He scored his first league goal for the club in a 1–1 draw at St Mirren Park against Dundee United on 26 January 2011, netting a header from a well placed corner kick by Steven Thomson. He then scored his second league goal for the club in a 3–3 draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 12 February 2011, with a header from a Jure Travner corner. During a match against Dundee United in the SPL on 6 August 2011, McGregor suffered cruciate ligament damage that prevented him from playing for most of the 2011–12 season.[6]

On 24 February 2012, it was announced that McGregor had signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the summer of 2014.[7] McGregor returned to the St Mirren first team, but then suffered another cruciate ligament injury in a match against Hibernian on 18 August 2012.[6] The injury sidelined McGregor for the rest of the 2012–13 Scottish Premier League season, and meant that he had only played 12 competitive matches for the club in a two-season period.

During pre-season of season 2013–14, McGregor returned to action after recovering from his second cruciate ligament injury, and admitted that he feared he may never play football again.[8] McGregor had an injury free season and registered 35 league appearances for the club.

Rangers

McGregor signed a one-year deal on 11 June 2014 with Rangers with an option for a second year. He made his debut for Rangers when he came on as a 92nd-minute substitute for Richard Foster in the opening game of the Scottish Championship season against Hearts. He scored his first goal for Rangers in a 4–1 win over Dumbarton in August 2014. In May 2015, McGregor won the Rangers' Player of the Year and Manager's Player of the Year. On 24 August 2015, it was announced that McGregor and Rangers had terminated his contract by mutual consent.[9]

Hibernian

The day after his release by Rangers, McGregor joined boyhood club Hibernian[10] on a two-year deal.[11] McGregor was part of the Hibs team that won the 2015–16 Scottish Cup, winning 3–2 against his former club Rangers in the final.[12]

On 15 April 2017, McGregor scored twice as Hibs beat Queen of the South 3–0 to clinch the 2016–17 Scottish Championship title and a return to the Scottish Premiership after an absence of three years.[13] He signed a two-year contract with Hibs in May 2017.[14] McGregor underwent knee surgery in September 2017, which head coach Neil Lennon said would prevent him from playing for at least four weeks.[15]

In April 2019, Hibs and McGregor agreed a new contract that is due to run until 2023.[16] In August of that year he sustained a lower abdominal injury which kept him out of action for four months.[17] [18] [19] Having made four appearances that season prior to the injury, he made six more after returning (and remained an unused substitute on 15 further occasions)[20] before the campaign was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.

On 15 May 2022, in the last match of the 2021–22 season, McGregor captained Hibs to a 4–0 win against St Johnstone. In June 2022 it was announced that McGregor would take up a player/coach role with the Hibs development squad.[21] He retired from playing at the end of the 2022–23 season (in which he was an unused substitute for 13 league fixtures), and became head coach of the Hibs under-18 team.[22]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cowdenbeath2004–05Scottish Third Division171001000181
2005–06Scottish Third Division14010101[23] 0170
Total311102010351
Arniston Rangers2006–07SJFA East Region
2007–08SJFA East Region
Total
Cowdenbeath2008–09[24] [25] Scottish Third Division34110216[26] 1433
2009–10Scottish Second Division17500004[27] 0215
Total5161021101648
St Mirren2010–11Scottish Premier League3635011424
2011–12Scottish Premier League90000090
2012–13Scottish Premier League31000031
2013–14Scottish Premiership3503000380
Total834801100925
Rangers2014–15Scottish Championship36430509[28] 1535
Hibernian2015–16Scottish Championship28071504[29] 2443
2016–17[30] Scottish Championship35240103[31] 0432
2017–18Scottish Premiership2401040290
2018–19[32] Scottish Premiership24230003[33] 0302
2019–20Scottish Premiership601030100
2020–21Scottish Premiership1011050161
2021–22Scottish Premiership10010202[34] 0150
Total13851812001221888
Career total3392031130232343226

Honours

Player

Cowdenbeath
Hibernian

2015–16[12]

2016–17[35]

Notes

  1. Web site: Darren McGregor. Hibernian FC. 4 December 2020.
  2. News: Darren McGregor encourages juniors to be ambitious. BBC Sport. 13 February 2011.
  3. News: Cowdenbeath defender Darren McGregor joins St Mirren . BBC Sport. 15 June 2010 .
  4. News: St Mirren 1–1 Dundee United . BBC Sport. 14 August 2010.
  5. News: Ross C 3–3 St Mirren (4–3 pen) . BBC Sport . 25 August 2010.
  6. News: St Mirren: Danny Lennon fears Darren McGregor may face lay-off. BBC Sport. 19 August 2012. 19 August 2012.
  7. Web site: Darren McGregor agrees St Mirren contract extension. STV Sport. 24 February 2012. 24 February 2012. 12 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140512222639/http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/st-mirren/298895-darren-mcgregor-agrees-st-mirren-contract-extension/. dead.
  8. News: St Mirren's Darren McGregor says determination to avoid going back to old job in clothes shop helped him beat injury hell . Haggerty . Anthony . Daily Record . 23 July 2013 . 23 July 2013.
  9. Web site: Defender Darren McGregor exits 'by mutual consent' . BBC Sport . 24 August 2015 . 25 August 2015.
  10. Web site: Hibernian sign up defender Darren McGregor after Rangers exit . BBC Sport . 25 August 2015 . 25 August 2015.
  11. Web site: McGregor Joins Hibernian . hibernianfc.co.uk . 25 August 2015 . 25 August 2015.
  12. Web site: Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2–3 Hibernian – BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. BBC Sport . 21 May 2016.
  13. Web site: Darren McGregor fires Hibs back to the Scottish Premiership. 15 April 2017. BT Sport . 15 April 2017.
  14. Web site: Five Renew Contracts For Next Season . Hibernian FC . 9 May 2017 . 9 May 2017 . 18 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175255/http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/7537 . dead .
  15. Web site: Hibernian defenders Liam Fontaine and Darren McGregor face spell on the sidelines . BBC Sport . Brian . McLauchlin . 15 September 2017 . 23 September 2017.
  16. Web site: David Gray & Darren McGregor sign new Hibs contracts until 2023 . BBC Sport . 22 April 2019 . 22 April 2019.
  17. https://www.bbc.com/sport/amp/football/49408170 Darren McGregor: Hibs defender out for 'several weeks' with abdominal injury
  18. http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/10393 Injury Update Darren McGregor
  19. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/darren-mcgregor-fit-after-lengthy-21129623 Darren McGregor fit after lengthy lay-off and is glad his kids can watch him play for Hibs again
  20. https://us.soccerway.com/players/darren-mcgregor/46819/ D. McGregor
  21. Web site: Darren McGregor Takes Up New Role With Hibs Development Squad . Hibernian FC . 23 June 2022 . 23 June 2022.
  22. Web site: McGregor to hang up boots at Hibs and take on U-18's head coach job . BBC Sport . 24 May 2023 . 24 May 2023.
  23. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  24. Web site: Elgin City 0–2 Cowdenbeath. BBC Sport. 26 July 2008. 5 October 2019.
  25. Web site: Cowdenbeath 1–2 Airdrie Utd. BBC Sport. 7 September 2008. 5 October 2019.
  26. Three appearances and one goal in the Scottish Challenge Cup and three appearances in the Scottish Second Division play-offs
  27. Appearances in the Scottish First Division play-offs
  28. Four appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup and five appearances and one goal in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
  29. Appearances in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
  30. Soccerbase did not record two appearances made by McGregor against Brondby IF on 14 July and 21 July 2016.
  31. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup and two appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  32. Soccerbase did not record appearances made by McGregor against Asteras Tripolis on 26 July and 2 August 2018.
  33. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  34. Appearances in the UEFA Conference League
  35. Web site: Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South . Brian . McLauchlin . BBC Sport . 15 April 2017 . 16 April 2017.