Darren McGregor
McGregor playing for St Mirren | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Darren McGregor | ||
Date of birth | 7 August 1985 | ||
Place of birth | Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
Playing position | Defender | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Hibernian | ||
Number | 24 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004–2006 | Cowdenbeath | 31 | (1) |
2006–2008 | Arniston Rangers | ||
2008–2010 | Cowdenbeath | 51 | (6) |
2010–2014 | St Mirren | 83 | (4) |
2014–2015 | Rangers | 36 | (4) |
2015– | Hibernian | 42 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:45, 20 November 2016 (UTC). |
Darren McGregor (born 7 August 1985) is a Scottish footballer who currently plays for 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 the Blue Brazil in 2008 and then moved on to play with St Mirren for four years, where he suffered two serious knee injuries. Despite this, McGregor's impressive performances was enough to win him a move to Rangers in the summer of 2014, before joining Hibs the following year.
Career
Cowdenbeath
A boyhood Hibernian fan,[1] McGregor's career started with Cowdenbeath where he played a role in the side that won the 2005–06 Scottish Third Division championship.[2] He 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] McGregor 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
On 25 August 2015, McGregor joined Scottish Championship 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]
Career statistics
- As of 15:45, 20 November 2016 (UTC)[13]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Cowdenbeath | 2004–05 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
2005–06 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
2008–09 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 2 | |
2009–10 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 5 | |
Total | 82 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 97 | 8 | |
St Mirren | 2010–11 | 36 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 4 |
2011–12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
2012–13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
2013–14 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
Total | 83 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 5 | |
Rangers | 2014–15 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 53 | 5 |
Hibernian | 2015–16 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 3 |
2016–17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
Total | 42 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 62 | 3 | |
Career total | 243 | 15 | 20 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 25 | 3 | 304 | 21 |
Honours
Player
- Cowdenbeath
- Scottish Third Division : 2005–06 (fourth tier)
- Scottish Second Division promotion: 2008–09 (promotion to second tier)
- Hibernian
References
- ↑ http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/darren-mcgregor-hibs-can-go-all-the-way-in-scottish-cup-1-4032614
- 1 2 "Darren McGregor encourages juniors to be ambitious". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 February 2011.
- ↑ "Cowdenbeath defender Darren McGregor joins St Mirren". BBC Sport. 15 June 2010.
- ↑ "St Mirren 1-1 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 14 August 2010.
- ↑ "Ross C 3-3 St Mirren (4-3 pen)". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 August 2010.
- 1 2 "St Mirren: Danny Lennon fears Darren McGregor may face lay-off". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ↑ "Darren McGregor agrees St Mirren contract extension". STV Sport. STV. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ↑ Haggerty, Anthony (23 July 2013). "St Mirren's Darren McGregor says determination to avoid going back to old job in clothes shop helped him beat injury hell". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ↑ "Defender Darren McGregor exits 'by mutual consent'". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ↑ "Hibernian sign up defender Darren McGregor after Rangers exit". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ↑ "McGregor Joins Hibernian". hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- 1 2 "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ↑ Darren McGregor career statistics at Soccerbase