# List of Motherwell F.C. managers

Motherwell Football Club is an association football club from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They were established on 10 May 1886 following a merger between Glencairn and Alpha. They play their home games at Fir Park Stadium.
This is an official list of the managers who have managed Motherwell, and the success that they have achieved, since 1911. Before that year, a committee was involved in the management of the club. The Club's first ever manager was John 'Sailor' Hunter, who would go on to become the club's longest-serving manager. It was during his tenure that Motherwell won their first, and to date, only Premier League title, in the 1931-32 season. This was the same year that The Steelmen had their greatest ever team, scoring a record 119 league goals in one season.
George Stevenson, who succeeded Hunter as Motherwell manager, is the club's most successful manager, winning the League Cup and Scottish Cup in 9 years at Fir Park.

## Managerial Performances in the League

The following lists are broken down into the level of league that Motherwell were in at the time they were league winners or runners-up. In recent times up till now, the Scottish Premier League would be classed as the 1st tier of the Scottish football league system while the Scottish First Division would be classed as the 2nd, instead of the first as had been the case.
* First tier
| Manager | Winner | Runner-up |
| John 'Sailor' Hunter | 1 (1931–32) | 4 (1926-27, 1929-30, 1932-33, 1933-34) |
| Alex McLeish | 0 | 1 (1994-95) |
| Stuart McCall | 0 | 2 (2012-13, 2013-14) |
* Second tier
| Manager | Winner | Runner-up |
| George Stevenson | 1 (1953–54) | 0 |
| Bobby Howitt | 1 (1968–69) | 0 |
| David Hay | 1 (1981–82) | 0 |
| Tommy McLean | 1 (1985–86) | 0 |

## Managerial Performances in Domestic Cup Competitions

The following lists documents Motherwell's success in the two premier cup competitions in Scotland, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup, as per manager.
* Scottish Cup
| Manager | Winner | Runner-up |
| John 'Sailor' Hunter | 0 | 3 (1930-31, 1932-33, 1938-39) |
| George Stevenson | 1 (1951-52) | 1 (1950-51) |
| Tommy McLean | 1 (1990-91) | 0 |
| Stuart McCall | 0 | 1 (2010-11) |
| Steve Robinson | 0 | 1 (2017-18) |
* Scottish League Cup
| Manager | Winner | Runner-up |
| George Stevenson | 1 (1950-51) | 1 (1954-55) |
| Terry Butcher | 0 | 1 (2004-05) |
| Steve Robinson | 0 | 1 (2017-18) |

## Managerial Statistics in the League

Below is the full Scottish league record of every Motherwell manager. Only league games are stated.
    As of match played 15 March 2025
| Name | From | To | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Win% |
| John Hunter | 1911 | 1946 | 1064 | 507 | 226 | 331 | 2073 | 1558 | 47.65 |
| George Stevenson | 1946 | 1955 | 270 | 108 | 43 | 119 | 517 | 515 | 40.00 |
| Bobby Ancell | 1955 | 1965 | 340 | 130 | 84 | 126 | 538 | 601 | 38.24 |
| Bobby Howitt | 1965 | 1972 | 249 | 95 | 55 | 101 | 416 | 394 | 38.15 |
| Ian St. John | 1972 | 1975 | 83 | 37 | 17 | 39 | 123 | 126 | 44.56 |
| Willie McLean | 1975 | 1978 | 98 | 39 | 27 | 42 | 159 | 161 | 39.80 |
| Roger Hynd | 1978 | 1979 | 36 | 5 | 17 | 24 | 33 | 86 | 13.89 |
| Ally MacLeod | 1979 | 1981 | 78 | 35 | 22 | 21 | 124 | 99 | 44.87 |
| David Hay | 1981 | 1982 | 39 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 92 | 36 | 66.66 |
| Jock Wallace, Jr. | 1982 | 1983 | 36 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 39 | 73 | 30.56 |
| Bobby Watson | 1983 | 1984 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 25 | 31 | 75 | 11.11 |
| Tommy McLean | 1 June 1984 | 31 May 1994 | 403 | 123 | 111 | 169 | 450 | 528 | 30.52 |
| Alex McLeish | 13 July 1994 | 10 Feb 1998 | 134 | 38 | 39 | 55 | 122 | 144 | 28.36 |
| Harri Kampman | 25 Feb 1998 | 4 Oct 1998 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 32 | 23.81 |
| Billy Davies | 14 Oct 1998 | 18 Sept 2001 | 108 | 34 | 28 | 55 | 137 | 162 | 31.48 |
| John Philliben/ Miodrag Krivokapić | 2001 | 2001 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 66.66 |
| Eric Black | 16 Oct 2001 | 30 June 2002 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 24 | 52 | 25.93 |
| Terry Butcher | 24 April 2002 | 17 May 2006 | 154 | 47 | 36 | 71 | 192 | 232 | 30.52 |
| Maurice Malpas | 17 May 2006 | 30 June 2007 | 35 | 10 | 7 | 18 | 38 | 54 | 26.32 |
| Mark McGhee | 1 July 2007 | 12 June 2009 | 76 | 31 | 15 | 30 | 96 | 97 | 40.79 |
| Jim Gannon | 1 July 2009 | 28 Dec 2009 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 28 | 23.53 |
| Craig Brown | 29 Dec 2009 | 10 Dec 2010 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 52 | 42 | 45.14 |
| Gordon Young | 12 Dec 2010 | 30 Dec 2010 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 00.00 |
| Stuart McCall | 30 Dec 2010 | 2 November 2014 | 146 | 67 | 25 | 54 | 209 | 198 | 45.89 |
| Kenny Black | 2 November 2014 | 13 December 2014 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 25.00 |
| Ian Baraclough | 13 December 2014 | 23 September 2015 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 21 | 33 | 47 | 34.38 |
| Stephen Craigan | 23 September 2015 | 13 October 2015 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 50.00 |
| Mark McGhee | 13 October 2015 | 28 February 2017 | 54 | 18 | 10 | 26 | 69 | 103 | 33.34 |
| Steve Robinson | 28 February 2017 | 31 December 2020 | 137 | 50 | 26 | 61 | 163 | 187 | 36.49 |
| Graham Alexander | 7 January 2021 | 29 July 2022 | 56 | 19 | 13 | 21 | 64 | 81 | 33.92 |
| Steven Hammell | 29 July 2022 | 11 August 2022 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 50 |
| Steven Hammell | 11 August 2022 | 11 February 2023 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 36 | 18.18 |
| Stuart Kettlewell | 11 February 2023 | 22 February 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 100 |
| Stuart Kettlewell | 22 February 2023 | 27 January 2025 | 74 | 26 | 19 | 28 | 107 | 110 | 35.14 |
| Stephen Frail | 27 January 2025 | 17 February 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Michael Wimmer | 17 February 2025 | | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 50 |

## Sources

* Jeffrey, Jim; Fry, Genge (2001). The Men Who Made Motherwell Football Club. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-2191-9.
* Wilson, Derek (2009). Motherwell FC Miscellany. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1905411375.