# Simon Ireland

Simon Piers Ireland (born 23 November 1971) is an English football coach and former professional player who is a coach at EFL League Two club Port Vale.
Ireland played as a midfielder in the Premier League and English Football League for Huddersfield Town, Wrexham (on loan), Blackburn Rovers, Mansfield Town and Doncaster Rovers. He scored 17 goals in 207 league and cup appearances in an eight-year professional career. He later played non-League football for Boreham Wood. He entered coaching with Blackburn Rovers, working at the Academy from 2008 to 2015. He then spent 18 months at Brighton & Hove Albion and three years in the academy at Queens Park Rangers before he became a first-team coach with Nottingham Forest in January 2018. He served as caretaker manager in January 2019. He switched to Sheffield Wednesday in August 2021 before he left the club in June 2023. He returned to Huddersfield Town as a coach in September 2023 and moved on to coach at Plymouth Argyle in March 2024 and then to Port Vale in February 2025.

## Playing career

Ireland came through the youth ranks at Huddersfield Town to make three starts and three substitute appearances in the Third Division during the 1990–91 season under the stewardship of Eoin Hand. He played 12 games in all competitions in the 1991–92 campaign. He spent the latter part of the season on loan at Brian Flynn's Wrexham, where he played five Fourth Division games. He departed Leeds Road early in the 1992–93 season after having scored one goal in five matches for Ian Ross's "Terriers". Ireland was sold to Blackburn Rovers for a £200,000 fee on 3 November 1992. He had impressed manager Kenny Dalglish in a League Cup game against Blackburn the previous month. He played one Premier League game for Rovers, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat at Manchester City on 30 January 1993.
On 18 March 1994, he returned to the Third Division on loan at Mansfield Town. He played nine games at Field Mill in what remained of the 1993–94 season. On 12 August 1994, he was sold to Mansfield Town for a £60,000 fee. He scored the winning goal against Leeds United in the League Cup the following month. Manager Andy King gave Ireland 50 starts and two substitute appearances in the 1994–95 campaign, with Ireland scoring seven goals. Ireland made 43 starts and two substitute appearances in the 1995–96 campaign, scoring six goals. Ireland featured nine times under new manager Steve Parkin in the early part of the 1996–97 season. Ireland joined Doncaster Rovers on loan from 18 October to 3 December 1996. On 28 January 1997, he joined Doncaster Rovers permanently for £10,000. He ended the 1996–97 season having made 25 appearances for Kerry Dixon's Rovers, scoring two goals. He played 38 games in the 1997–98 campaign as Rovers finished bottom of the Football League and then left Belle Vue. He later played for Isthmian League club Boreham Wood.

## Coaching career

In January 2008, Ireland was appointed assistant director, responsible for the U9-U12 age groups at Blackburn Rovers. In August 2013, he then became the U21 manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. He left Brighton in December 2014. Ireland joined Queens Park Rangers as the academy's new head of coaching and coach education in February 2015. He left on 18 January 2018 and joined the staff of Aitor Karanka at Nottingham Forest as a first-team coach a few days later. Karanka departed the club on 11 January 2019 and Ireland served as caretaker manager the following day against Reading, which ended in a 2–0 defeat. On 15 January, Martin O'Neill was appointed as the new manager and Ireland returned to work as part of the backroom staff.
In August 2021, Ireland joined Darren Moore as a first-team coach at Sheffield Wednesday. He was credited with greatly improving the Owls at set pieces. He left Sheffield Wednesday on 19 June 2023, with manager Darren Moore and the rest of his backroom staff. In September 2023, he re-united with Moore once again as part of the new coaching staff at Championship side Huddersfield Town, re-joining the Terriers after a thirty-year absence. In March 2024, he was appointed as a first-team coach at Plymouth Argyle by manager Ian Foster. He left the club when manager Wayne Rooney departed on 31 December 2024. He began coaching alongside Darren Moore at Port Vale in February 2025 after assistant manager Wayne Jacobs was forced to take a leave of absence due to ill health.

## Personal life

His son, Ben, played non-League football for Shelley.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Huddersfield Town | 1990–91 | Third Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Huddersfield Town | 1991–92 | Third Division | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Huddersfield Town | 1992–93 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Huddersfield Town | Total | Total | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Wrexham (loan) | 1991–92 | Fourth Division | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1992–93 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1993–94 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Total | Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mansfield Town (loan) | 1993–94 | Third Division | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 1 |
| Mansfield Town | 1994–95 | Third Division | 40 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 7 |
| Mansfield Town | 1995–96 | Third Division | 39 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 6 |
| Mansfield Town | 1996–97 | Third Division | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Mansfield Town | Total | Total | 94 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 115 | 14 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 1996–97 | Third Division | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 1997–98 | Third Division | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| Doncaster Rovers | Total | Total | 59 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 178 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 207 | 17 |
* 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
* ↑ Appearance(s) in play-offs

### Managerial

Managerial record by team and tenure :
| Team | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Ref. |
| Team | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win % | Ref. |
| Nottingham Forest (caretaker) | 11 January 2019 | 15 January 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 | |
| Total | Total | Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 | |