Stephen Robinson (footballer)
Northern Irish footballer (born 1974)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stephen Robinson (born 10 December 1974) is a Northern Irish football manager and former player who currently manages Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Robinson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 December 1974[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aberdeen (Head Coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lisburn Youth | |||
| 1991–1993 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1994 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | (0) |
| 1994 | → Leyton Orient (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1994–2000 | AFC Bournemouth | 241 | (52) |
| 2000–2002 | Preston North End | 24 | (1) |
| 2002 | → Bristol City (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2002–2008 | Luton Town | 185 | (8) |
| Total | 458 | (62) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989 | Northern Ireland U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 1991 | Northern Ireland U18 | 2 | (1) |
| 1994 | Northern Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–1998 | Northern Ireland B | 4 | (1) |
| 1997–2007 | Northern Ireland | 7 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016–2017 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| 2017–2020 | Motherwell | ||
| 2021–2022 | Morecambe | ||
| 2022–2026 | St Mirren | ||
| 2026– | Aberdeen | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
During his career, he played for Tottenham Hotspur, Leyton Orient, AFC Bournemouth, Preston North End, Bristol City, Luton Town and internationally for Northern Ireland.
Robinson has managed Oldham Athletic, Motherwell, Morecambe and St Mirren before being appointed Aberdeen manager in March 2026.
Early life
Robinson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.[2] He played for Lisburn Youth as a child and started out as a forward.[3]
Club career
Robinson began his career with the Tottenham Hotspur youth system as a trainee, signing a professional contract in January 1994.[1] He joined AFC Bournemouth due to the lack of first team opportunities at Tottenham. After a highly successful time at Bournemouth, Robinson joined Preston North End in 2000. After failing to force himself into Preston's starting XI, he joined Bristol City on loan until the end of the 2001–02 season.
After this he joined Luton Town for a fee of £50,000 in 2002. He was forced to play on the right-wing by then manager Joe Kinnear, despite his position being an attacking centre-midfielder in his Bournemouth days. New manager Mike Newell soon reverted Robinson to his favoured central-midfield role, and he was rewarded with a League One championship in 2005, and a tenth-place finish in the Championship in 2006. During the 2006–07 season, Robinson captained the side in Chris Coyne's absence and was handed a new two-year contract by Hatters boss Mike Newell. On 26 July 2008 Robinson agreed to a mutual termination of his contract at Luton.
International career
Coaching career
Motherwell assistant
Robinson joined Motherwell in February 2015, to assist manager Ian Baraclough.[6] He also assisted the Northern Ireland national team, working with Michael O'Neill, that qualified for UEFA Euro 2016.[7] Robinson was previously manager of the under-age Northern Ireland squads, working for the Irish Football Association.
Oldham Athletic
Robinson was appointed manager of Oldham Athletic in July 2016.[7] He was replaced as manager by John Sheridan on 12 January 2017.
Motherwell
Robinson returned to Motherwell in February 2017, this time to assist Mark McGhee as first team coach.[8] Less than two weeks later, Robinson took over as interim manager following McGhee's departure from the club.[9][10] He was subsequently appointed as manager on a permanent basis in March 2017.[11] On 13 October 2017, Manager Robinson extended his contract with Motherwell until May 2020.[12]
On 22 October 2017, Robinson guided Motherwell to the Scottish League Cup final after defeating Pedro Caixinha's Rangers 2–0 at Hampden. The game saw both managers sent to the stands for their behaviour on the touchline.[13] They were defeated in the final 2–0 by Celtic.[14] In April 2018, Motherwell won in the 2017–18 Scottish Cup semi-finals, overcoming Aberdeen 3–0, to set up another final with Celtic the following month;[15] this was the first time the club had appeared in both domestic finals since the 1950–51 season.[16]
On 27 September 2019, Robinson said clubs had a duty of care in relation to players' mental well-being if they were injured.[17]
On 31 December 2020, Robinson resigned as Motherwell manager, after over three years in charge of the Lanarkshire side.[18][19]
Morecambe
On 7 June 2021, Robinson was named as manager of newly promoted League One side Morecambe on a three-year deal.[20]
St Mirren
Robinson returned to Scottish football in February 2022, becoming manager of St Mirren.[21] In December 2025, Robinson and St Mirren lifted the Scottish League Cup defeating Celtic 3-1 at Hampden Park. Robinson left St Mirren in March 2026 to take up the vacant position at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen
Robinson was appointed as head coach at Aberdeen in March 2026, after Aberdeen met a compensation clause in his contract with St Mirren.[22]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1993–94 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 1996–97 | Second Division | 40 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 7 |
| 1997–98 | 46 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 56 | 13 | ||
| 1998–98 | 42 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 16 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 40 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 10 | ||
| Total | 168 | 40 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 200 | 46 | ||
| Preston North End | 2000–01 | First Division | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| 2001–02 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| Bristol City | 2001–02 | Second Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Luton Town | 2002–03 | Second Division | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| 2003–04 | 34 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| 2004–05 | League One | 31 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | |
| 2005–06 | Championship | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |
| 2006–07 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | League One | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| Total | 185 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 211 | 12 | ||
| Overall | 385 | 53 | 27 | 5 | 20 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 448 | 59 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 1997 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
Managerial record
- As of match played 1 May 2026[26]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| Oldham Athletic | 9 July 2016 | 12 January 2017 | 33 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 21.2 | ||||
| Motherwell | 28 February 2017 | 31 December 2020 | 169 | 71 | 30 | 68 | 42.0 | ||||
| Morecambe | 7 June 2021 | 22 February 2022 | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 25.0 | ||||
| St Mirren | 22 February 2022 | 12 March 2026 | 188 | 63 | 45 | 80 | 33.5 | ||||
| Aberdeen | 12 March 2026 | Present | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 33.3 | ||||
| Total | 435 | 153 | 98 | 184 | 35.2 | ||||||
Honours
As a player
- AFC Bournemouth
- Football League Trophy runner-up: 1997–98
- Luton Town
Individual
As a manager
- Motherwell
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 2017–18[28]
- Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2017–18[29]
- St Mirren
- Individual
- Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month: February 2019,[31] August 2023[32]
