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Who Are The League One Managers? No.11: Grant McCann (Hull City)

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On 14 October 2001, West Ham United travelled to Ewood Park for a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers. It was a day that West Ham fans were destined not to forget, but particularly so for an inexperienced twenty-year-old midfielder named Grant McCann. West Ham were 3-1 down by the time substitute McCann came on at half-time to make his fourth appearance for the club, but things were about to get worse. In the 63rd minute, McCann made a hash of clearing a cross into the box: missing his kick completely, the ball cannoned comically off his standing leg and into the net. On a day of brilliant shooting by the hosts, West Ham went on to lose 7-1. McCann never played for West Ham again, and it could have signalled the end of his career in football. But having grown up on the tough streets of inner-city Belfast during the Troubles, he was made of sterner stuff.

Born on 4 April 1980, Grant Samuel McCann began playing football in the streets around his home and for the now-departed Deramore High School. His career began in earnest with local club Distillery, as part of an all-conquering youth side that incredibly included future international team mates Aaron Hughes, Andy Smith, Gary Hamilton, David Healy and Gareth McAuley. He was spotted by West Ham United manager Harry Redknapp at the age of 14, and moved to London as an apprentice on £42 per week when he left school in the summer of 1996. Originally sharing a house in Barking with team mate Michael Carrick, McCann was homesick and had no belief in his own ability as a player. However, he made good progress through the West Ham academy system, and he set himself three targets: to play in the Premier League, to play for his country, and to score an international goal.

He made his U18 international debut for Northern Ireland in a 5-0 win over Andorra on 7 November 1997, but he would have to wait another couple of years for his opportunity in club football. That opportunity came north of the border when he joined Scottish First Division side Livingston on a month’s loan on 26 August 1999. He made his professional debut as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw at Morton two days later. Indeed, all four of his league appearances for Livingston came as a late substitute, and he returned to reserve team football with West Ham at the end of the month.

His development continued nonetheless, and he made his debut for Northern Ireland U21 as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw with Scotland at Newry on 29 May 2000. His next taste of club football came in August 2000 when he signed on a month’s loan for Division Two Notts County. He made his debut in a 4-3 home defeat by Millwall, and County lost all three games in which McCann appeared. The following month saw him sign a loan deal with Division Three side Cheltenham Town, making his debut in a 2-0 home defeat by Rochdale. He then scored his first goal for Northern Ireland U21 in a 5-2 win in Iceland on 10 October. The loan at Cheltenham proved far more beneficial than his two previous ones, and he went on to make 33 appearances for the Robins. Upon returning to London, he finally made his West Ham debut as a last-minute substitute in a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Middlesbrough on 19 May 2001. He remained in contention at the start of the 2001-02 season and appeared as a 70th-minute substitute in a Premier League game at Anfield on 18 August, although Michael Owen hit the winner a few minutes later. He was also a late substitute in the next game, a 0-0 draw with Leeds.

Another milestone was reached on 6 October 2001 when he made his full international debut for Northern Ireland in a 1-0 win in Malta in a World Cup qualifier. Unsurprisingly, that came as a late substitute too. As an aside, the start of McCann’s international career coincided with an unfortunate run-in which Northern Ireland failed to score in 13 successive matches between March 2002 and February 2004. McCann appeared in six of those games.

Then came the infamous game at Blackburn in October 2001 that effectively signalled the end of McCann’s career with West Ham and also his career in the Premier League. After a spell back in the reserves, McCann returned to Cheltenham on a three-month loan from 4 October 2002. Cheltenham had won promotion through the play-offs in May 2002 and were struggling in the bottom three in their first-ever season in the third tier. A 7-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the League Cup prompted manager Graham Allner to add McCann to his squad. Improved form through October and November lifted the side out of the bottom four, but it was no more than a brief respite. Allner was sacked on 13 January 2003, replaced by the experienced Bobby Gould in February. In the interim period, McCann signed for Cheltenham on a permanent basis on 29 January 2003 for a club-record £50,000. However, a run of five successive draws in April proved fatal, and a 1-0 defeat at McCann’s former club Notts County on the final day saw Cheltenham relegated.

Cheltenham got off to an indifferent start to 2003-04, and Gould resigned on 18 October after a supporter demonstration at the 2-0 defeat to Rochdale. His replacement John Ward could do little to salvage the season, although a run of one defeat in eleven games ensured a mid-table finish. The 2004-05 season proved similarly uneventful, with an identical 14th-place finish. However, Ward had built his own squad for 2005-06, and a 1-0 win over Chester on Boxing Day took Cheltenham into the play-off positions where they were to remain. A 5-0 win at Mansfield on the final day ensured a fifth-place finish, and a narrow 2-1 aggregate win over Wycombe in the play-off semi-final took Cheltenham to Cardiff. A Steve Guinan goal midway through the second half was enough to beat Grimsby, and Grant McCann had won his first promotion. The 2006-07 season proved much tougher at the higher level, and Cheltenham slipped to the bottom in November. McCann had become a regular fixture in the Northern Ireland side by this stage, and it was inevitable that bigger clubs would be circling. On 23 November 2006, he signed a six-week loan deal with Championship side Barnsley with a view to a permanent move.

Barnsley had endured a poor start to the 2006-07 season and were in the bottom two by the time McCann arrived at Oakwell. Things improved immediately as McCann scored a 90th-minute winner on his debut against Ipswich. Barnsley picked up eleven points from McCann’s first seven games, and the move was made permanent on 2 January 2007 for £100,000. He made 222 appearances for Cheltenham during his three separate spells, scoring 46 goals. At that time, it was the largest transfer fee ever received by Cheltenham. Barnsley then commenced an incredible 24-game run that saw them either win or lose. Nine were wins, which proved sufficient to keep Barnsley in the Championship with relative comfort. Another personal landmark was achieved when he scored his first goal for Northern Ireland in stoppage time of a 4-1 win in Liechtenstein in a European Championship qualifier on 24 March 2007.

Barnsley had a great start to 2007-08, sitting fourth at the beginning of October. That was as good as it got, and they eventually slipped into the bottom half. Barnsley went on to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup, but it would be without McCann: on 15 January 2008, he signed for Championship rivals Scunthorpe for an undisclosed fee. Scunthorpe were in the bottom two with only six wins all season, but McCann’s arrival failed to spark a revival and they were relegated with three games remaining. Scunthorpe lost the first two league games of 2008-09 before embarking on a run of nine wins and two draws that took them from the bottom two to the top of the table in mid-October. There was also a run to the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, which gave McCann his first appearance at Wembley. He scored on his debut at the National Stadium, an 88th-minute equaliser; unfortunately, an extra-time goal by Claude Gnapka won the cup for Mick Harford’s Luton Town. The cup run might have contributed to the loss of form in the new year that left them in a straight shootout on the final day against Tranmere: a defeat would see Tranmere finish in sixth place above them. An 88th-minute equaliser by Cliff Byrne took Scunthorpe into the play-offs where a 7-6 win on penalties over MK Dons took McCann to Wembley for the second time in two months. A 3-2 win over Millwall took Scunthorpe straight back up to the Championship, and McCann had his second promotion through the play-offs.

Results were inconsistent in 2009-10, with safety only secured with two games remaining. One note of interest from the season was being knocked out of both cups by Manchester City in the fourth round. It was during this final season at Scunthorpe that McCann began to take his coaching badges. Despite a mediocre season for Scunthorpe, McCann was in demand as a host of Championship clubs were rumoured to be interested in signing him. Surprisingly he chose to join Gary Johnson’s Peterborough, just relegated from the Championship, signing a three-year contract on  28 May 2010.

The intention at London Road was an immediate return to the Championship in 2010-11, and Peterborough got away to a great start with McCann scoring on his debut in a 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers. A play-off place was never really in doubt, although Johnson was replaced by former manager Darren Ferguson in January. A very consistent season saw them finish fourth, and McCann scored in both legs of the 5-2 aggregate win over MK Dons in the semi-final (the same opponents beaten in the semi-final by McCann’s Scunthorpe two years before). The final against Huddersfield — held at Old Trafford due to Wembley being used for the Champions League Final — was a tight affair before three goals in the final twelve minutes saw Peterborough home. McCann’s personal contribution was an assist for the first, and a goal for the third. It was McCann’s third promotion via the play-offs, notably achieved with three different clubs at three different venues. His season total of 13 goals was the best return of his career.

Peterborough got away to a reasonable start back in the Championship in 2011-12 with McCann scoring twice in the legendary 7-1 win over Ipswich in August. A 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day left Peterborough within five points of the play-offs, although they eventually slipped back to finish eighteenth. On 2 June 2012, he made his thirty-ninth and final appearance for Northern Ireland in a 6-0 friendly defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam. His international career had seen him play against some of Europe’s top players including Raul, Andrea Pirlo, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Milan Baros, Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Better things were expected at Peterborough in 2012-13, but the season got off to a disastrous start with seven straight defeats. Ferguson kept his job against the odds, and three successive wins in December lifted them off the foot of the table. Form improved significantly through the spring, and Peterborough went into the final day knowing that a win at Crystal Palace would guarantee safety. They led 2-1 with seven minutes to go, but two goals in five minutes gave Palace a 3-2 win. As it happened, a point would have been enough to stay up, but Barnsley’s 2-2 draw at Huddersfield sent Posh down.

Ferguson kept his job again despite relegation, but promotion was the sole target in 2013-14. Ten wins from the first twelve games saw Posh set the pace at the top before five successive defeats left them ten points adrift of the promotion places. More consistent form over the second half of the season meant that a play-off place was never in doubt, although a 3-2 home defeat to non-league Kidderminster in the FA Cup third round was not in the plan. Also not in the plan was a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Leyton Orient in the play-off semi-final, although Peterborough’s run to the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy cannot have helped with fixture congestion. A 3-2 win over Chesterfield gave McCann his second Football League Trophy win.

Five wins from the first six games saw Posh top of the League One table in early September 2014, but they had slipped into mid-table by the time Grant McCann’s time at London Road came to an end. On 14 January 2015, he signed for Linfield, the club he supported as a boy, and where his brother Ryan had played ten years earlier. It was a move back home to Belfast, and Grant looked forward to finishing his career there. That is exactly what he did, although not in the way he intended: after six weeks his contract was cancelled by mutual consent to enable him to return to Peterborough in a coaching capacity.

So Grant McCann’s playing career ended with a total of 581 appearances and 106 goals for eight clubs in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. He also made 11 appearances for Northern Ireland U21 (3 goals) and 39 for the full international side (4 goals), making an impressive total of 113 goals from 631 appearances in competitive football. He had achieved all three of the targets he set in his early days at West Ham: to play in the Premier League, to play for his country, and to score an international goal.

The reason for the move back to Peterborough was a change of manager. Darren Ferguson had been sacked on 21 February, replaced by academy manager Dave Robertson who wanted McCann on his coaching staff. McCann was already in the final stages of qualifying for his UEFA Pro Licence when he decided to hang up his boots a few months later, and had spent time coaching the U16s and U18s during the months leading up to the move to Linfield.

McCann was destined not to remain backroom staff for long. Peterborough finished ninth at the end of that 2014-15 season, and Robertson was sacked on 6 September after one win from the first six games left the side two points off the bottom of League One. Results picked up initially under new manager Graham Westley, and Peterborough rose into the top six by the end of November. A poor run of seven defeats from eight games ultimately left the side too far behind the promotion race, and Westley was sacked on 23 April 2016 with two games of the season remaining. Grant McCann was asked to oversee the final two games as caretaker, and he won both by 4-3 and 5-1. It was enough to persuade chairman Darragh MacAnthony to give him the job permanently on 16 May 2016 on an optimistic four-year deal.

The immediate remit in 2016-17 was to finish a lot higher than last season’s thirteenth place, and Peterborough did reach the top six in December before a run of nine defeats from thirteen games effectively consigned them to another mid-table finish. It had not been a great first season for McCann, but the board kept faith. That faith seemed well-placed as Posh started the 2017-18 season with four straight wins to top the table. McCann received the Manager of the Month award for August, and things were looking good. However, Peterborough slipped out of the top six in December and did not return. Two cup runs kept the board supportive, although they were knocked out of both in the same week: a 4-2 defeat at Lincoln in the quarter-final of the Checkatrade Trophy was followed four days later by a 5-1 home defeat by Leicester in the FA Cup fourth round. On 10 February 2018, he was linked with the vacant manager’s job at Barnsley, but McCann declined, saying he was happy at London Road. However, Peterborough drew four and lost one of the next five league games, and McCann was sacked on 25 February with Peterborough off the pace in tenth.

He was not out of work for long, appointed manager of League One Doncaster Rovers on 27 June 2018 in succession to Darren Ferguson. Doncaster had finished fifteenth the previous season after promotion from League Two, and were looking to push for promotion again. They got off to a great start in 2018-19, winning six and drawing three of their first ten games to sit third. An indifferent run of form dropped them out of the top six, but a 2-0 win over Coventry on the final day secured the final play-off spot. The promotion dream ended with a 4-3 defeat on penalties to Charlton in the semi-final. There was also a great run to the fifth round of the FA Cup where they were beaten by Crystal Palace.

Things were looking promising for 2018-19 season, but McCann would not be there to continue the job. After just one season at the Keepmoat, he was appointed manager of Championship side Hull City on 21 June 2019. Hull got away to a good start, and a 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday on New Year’s Day left them just a point off the play-offs. However, an appalling run of just six points from the final twenty games saw Hull relegated in bottom place. Hull were not helped by the sale of striker Jarrod Bowen to West Ham for £22 million, but such a comprehensive collapse was hard to explain. Hull conceded 54 goals during the run including a club record 8-0 defeat to relegation rivals Wigan, and fans awaited the dismissal of the manager. However, McCann received the public backing of the directors, and will lead Hull’s challenge for promotion in 2020-21.

There is no doubt that last season’s capitulation came as a major shock to both Hull City and its manager. Grant McCann knows that the Allams will be expecting nothing less than promotion, and that will bring a lot of pressure. He appears unfazed by the challenge, but the fans will be unforgiving if Hull start badly. He has plenty of experience to draw from, and is back in a division he knows well. And after the disasters of the last eight months, he will be aware that he needs a good season to repair the damage caused to his managerial reputation.

Key:

P = Promoted; R = Relegated; SF = Lost in play-off semi-final; F = Lost in play-off final; PO = Won play-off final; D = Demoted.

Figures are league games only; cup matches and play-offs are not included.

League position shown is either the position at the end of the season or the position at the time of departure.

Writer: Scotimp

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Prior to Joe Morrell, who was the last loanee to win the Player of the Season award?

If you haven’t already had a go at our quizzes, this is a great way to learn some random information about the Football Club, as well as helping us generate much-needed page views: Quiz No.1, Quiz No.2, Quiz No.3, Quiz No.4, Quiz No.5, Quiz No.6, Quiz No.7, Quiz No.8, Quiz No.9Quiz No.10, Quiz No.11Quiz No.12, Quiz No.13, Quiz No.14, Quiz No.15, Quiz No.16, Quiz No.17, Quiz No.18, Quiz No.19, Quiz No.20, Quiz No.21, Quiz No.22, Quiz No.23, Quiz No.24, Quiz No.25, Quiz No.26, Quiz No.27, Quiz No.28, Quiz No.29 and Quiz No.30.

Who Are The League One Managers?No.11: Grant McCann (Hull City):https://lincoln.vitalfootball.co.uk/who-are-the-league-one-managers-no-11-grant-mccann-hull-city/#HCAFC #TheTigers

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