John Robertson (footballer, born 1964)
Scottish football coach (born 1964)
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John Grant Robertson (born 2 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Robertson played as a striker for Newcastle United, Dundee and Livingston, but he is best known for his two spells at Heart of Midlothian totalling about 18 years, where he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer. He has since managed Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Hearts, Ross County, Livingston, Derry City and East Fife.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Grant Robertson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 October 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ross County (coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Salvesen Boys Club | |||
| Edina Hibs | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1988 | Heart of Midlothian | 203 | (106) |
| 1988 | Newcastle United | 12 | (0) |
| 1988–1998 | Heart of Midlothian | 310 | (108) |
| 1998 | → Dundee (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 1998–2000 | Livingston | 41 | (14) |
| Total | 570 | (229) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1987[2] | Scotland U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 1990–1996[3] | Scotland B | 3 | (0) |
| 1990[4] | SFA (SFL centenary) | 1 | (0) |
| 1990–1995 | Scotland | 16 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | ||
| 2004–2005 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| 2005 | Ross County | ||
| 2006–2007 | Livingston | ||
| 2007 | Derry City | ||
| 2010–2012 | East Fife | ||
| 2017–2021 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | ||
| 2023 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle (interim) | ||
| 2025 | Ross County (interim) | ||
| 2025 | Ross County (interim) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Hibernian attempted to sign Robertson as a teenager but he asked for time to think the deal over; after Hibs refused, he signed for Heart of Midlothian along with school friend and fellow future internationalist Dave Bowman. Robertson eventually earned the moniker "The Hammer of Hibs" (in addition to his more standard nickname "Robbo") as he scored a record 27 goals in Edinburgh derby matches.[5] In 1986, 20 league goals from Robertson helped Hearts to the brink of a league and cup double. A 27 league game unbeaten run ended with two Albert Kidd goals for Dundee in the last six minutes of the season allowing Celtic to overtake them to win the title. A week later, Hearts lost 3–0 to Aberdeen in the cup final.[6] He scored 106 goals in 202 Hearts league games in this spell at Tynecastle Park.
He left Hearts to play for Newcastle United in April 1988. Robertson failed to score in 14 Newcastle competitive first team games and returned to Hearts in December of that year, and remained there for the next decade. In 1998 Hearts won the Scottish Cup with Robertson an unused substitute, earning him his only senior medal as a player. In this second spell at Hearts he scored at a much less prolific rate compared to his first spell, with this time 106 goals in 310 league games. After an earlier loan spell with Dundee scoring once in 4 league games, he left Tynecastle that summer. He joined Livingston as a player-coach, scoring 14 goals in 41 league games.
Robertson was also a Scottish international, playing on 16 occasions for Scotland. He made his debut against Romania in 1990, scoring in a 2–1 win. He missed out on selection for the UEFA Euro 1992 due to a hernia injury.[7]
Coaching career
Inverness Caledonian Thistle (first spell)
Whilst playing for Livingston, Robertson became involved in the coaching side of the game.[8] He left the club in season 2002–03 to become manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle where he guided the Highland team to the SPL for the first time in their history.
Heart of Midlothian manager
In November 2004 he returned to Hearts as head coach and despite two cup semi-finals and a good season in Europe as well as finishing fifth in the league, he was sacked in May 2005.
Ross County and Livingston
Robertson was appointed manager of Scottish First Division team Ross County in June 2005, but left by mutual consent after four months.[8] He was then appointed manager of Livingston in February 2006,[8] but was sacked in April 2007 after finishing sixth in the First Division.
Derry City
Robertson was appointed by League of Ireland side Derry City in July 2007. He took club out of the relegation battle to a safe mid table position and also won the FAI League Cup and qualified for the Setanta Cup before being dismissed by the new chairman and board of directors at Derry, and replaced by former Derry boss Stephen Kenny.[9] In 2009, Robertson coached strikers at Scottish Premier League clubs Dundee United and Kilmarnock. In March 2010, Robertson helped coach the strikers at Hearts on a non-contract basis.
East Fife
Robertson was appointed manager of East Fife in October 2010. In September 2011, his East Fife side knocked SPL club Aberdeen out of the Scottish League Cup at Pittodrie Stadium. On 1 March 2012 it was announced that Robertson had left East Fife.[10]
Inverness Caledonian Thistle (second spell)
In June 2017, Robertson returned to Inverness Caledonian Thistle as manager.[11][12] On 24 March 2018, the club won the Scottish Challenge Cup. In the 2018/19 season, Inverness qualified for the promotion playoffs but were beaten in the semi-finals by Dundee United.[13] Dundee then made an approach for Robertson, but this was rejected by Inverness.[13] Inverness finished second in the 2019–20 Scottish Championship, which was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]
In June 2020, his contract with Inverness was extended by two years.[14] Robertson was placed on compassionate leave in February 2021, with Neil McCann given caretaker charge of the team in his absence.[15] Robertson returned to Inverness in May 2021 as sporting director, with a new manager to be appointed (Billy Dodds).[16] Dodds was sacked in September 2023, and Robertson was placed in caretaker charge of the Inverness first team until Duncan Ferguson was appointed later that month.[17][18] He left the club in November that same year.
Ross County return
In June 2025, Robertson returned to Dingwall to join Don Cowie's coaching staff.[19] He was made interim manager in August 2025, after Cowie left the club.[20][21]Robertson was once again made intirim manager on 17 December 2025 after the departure of Tony Docherty, he then returned to the role of first team coach after the appointment of Stuart Kettlewell.[22]It wa announced on 4 May 2026 that Robertson would leave the club following County's relegation to Scottish League One.[23]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1981–82 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| 1982–83 | 23 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 28 | 21 | |||
| 1983–84 | Premier Division | 35 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | – | 44 | 20 | ||
| 1984–85 | 33 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 45 | 13 | ||
| 1985–86 | 35 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | 43 | 25 | |||
| 1986–87 | 37 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 19 | ||
| 1987–88 | 39 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | – | 46 | 31 | |||
| Total | 203 | 106 | 25 | 11 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 253 | 129 | ||
| Newcastle United | 1988–89 | First Division | 12 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 14 | 0 | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1988–89 | Premier Division | 15 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| 1989–90 | 32 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 22 | ||
| 1990–91 | 31 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 16 | ||
| 1991–92 | 42 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 20 | ||
| 1992–93 | 42 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 15 | ||
| 1993–94 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 12 | ||
| 1994–95 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 14 | ||
| 1995–96 | 33 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 14 | ||
| 1996–97 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 19 | ||
| 1997–98 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 | ||
| Total | 310 | 108 | 35 | 18 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 379 | 142 | ||
| Dundee | 1997–98 | First Division | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 1 | |
| Livingston | 1998–99 | Second Division | 36 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 44 | 16 | |
| 1999–00 | First Division | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 1 | ||
| Total | 41 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 17 | ||
| Career total | 570 | 229 | 66 | 31 | 49 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 700 | 289 | ||
- Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup.
- Includes Scottish League Cup, Football League Cup.
International
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Robertson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 September 1990 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Romania | 1–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 2 | 17 October 1990 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Switzerland | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 3 | 24 May 1995 | Toyama Park Stadium, Toyama, Japan |  Ecuador | 1–0 | 2–1 | Kirin Cup |
Managerial record
- As of match played 27 December 2025[30]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 26 December 2002 | 3 November 2004 | 84 | 44 | 13 | 27 | 52.38 | |||
| Heart of Midlothian | 3 November 2004 | 9 May 2005 | 35 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 37.14 | |||
| Ross County | 21 June 2005 | 24 October 2005 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 40.00 | |||
| Livingston | 15 February 2006 | 15 April 2007 | 51 | 15 | 10 | 26 | 29.41 | |||
| Derry City | 2 July 2007 | 11 December 2007 | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 33.33 | |||
| East Fife | 26 October 2010 | 1 March 2012 | 62 | 28 | 11 | 23 | 45.16 | |||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 14 June 2017 | 13 May 2021 | 155 | 70 | 42 | 43 | 45.16 | |||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle (interim) | 17 September 2023 | 26 September 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| Ross County (interim) | 25 August 2025 | 3 September 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | |||
| Ross County (interim) | 17 December 2025 | 30 December 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | |||
| Career total | 430 | 184 | 100 | 146 | 42.79 | |||||
Honours
Player
Heart of Midlothian
- Scottish Premier Division runner–up: 1985–86, 1987–88, 1991–92
- Scottish First Division promoted: 1982–83
- Scottish Cup: 1997–98; runner–up 1985–86, 1995–96
- Scottish League Cup runner–up: 1996–97
- Tennents' Sixes: 1985, 1991;[31] runner–up 1987[32]
Livingston
Scotland U16
Individual
- SPFA Young Player of the Year: 1983–84
- Scottish Premier Division Top Scorer: 1989–90
- Heart of Midlothian Hall of Fame inductee: 2006[34]
- Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2019[35]
Manager
- Livingston Reserves
- Inverness Caledonian Thistle
- Scottish First Division: 2003–04; runner–up 2019–20
- Scottish Challenge Cup: 2003–04, 2017–18, 2019–20[note 1][37]
- Derry City
Individual
Notes
- ICT and Raith Rovers were declared joint-winners on 30 April 2021. The final was originally withheld due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Robertson was the manager when the team reached the final and was still the permanent manager at the time of announcement, albeit Robertson was on compassionate leave at the time.