Mark McGhee

Playing career

McGhee was born in Glasgow and raised in Cumbernauld. He began his professional career at Morton in 1975, developing into a centre forward. In December 1977 he moved to Newcastle United, but after managerial changes he fell down the pecking order and returned to Scotland in March 1979 as Alex Ferguson's first major signing for Aberdeen. He made his debut for the Dons on 1 April 1979 against former club Morton.

McGhee won the SFL Reserve Cup with Aberdeen in 1979. The following season he won his first major honour when Aberdeen won the Scottish Premier Division, the first time in 15 years a club outwith the Old Firm had finished Scottish champions. At Aberdeen he won a further league title in 1984 and three successive Scottish Cup wins from 1982 to 1984. He was part of the side that defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup final, setting up John Hewitt's winning goal with a cross.

He also scored against Hamburg in the second leg of the 1983 UEFA Super Cup. McGhee won the Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1982. He moved to Hamburg in summer 1984 for a £330,000 fee, but his time there was unsuccessful due to injuries. After 16 months and 12 goals, he returned to Scotland, joining Celtic for £170,000.

He won the Scottish Premier Division in 1986 as Celtic pipped Hearts on goal difference. After struggling through injury and competition from Mo Johnston and Brian McClair, he gained a new lease of life in 1987 and won a league and Scottish Cup double in Celtic's centenary season. He won another Scottish Cup in 1989 and was Celtic's top scorer that season, also finishing joint top scorer in the Scottish Premier Division alongside Charlie Nicholas.

Management career

McGhee began his management career as player-manager at third-tier Reading in 1991, succeeding Ian Porterfield after being recommended by Alex Ferguson. He retired as a player in 1993 and won the Division Two title with Reading the following season, adapting quickly to the second flight and taking the team as high as second place by December 1994. Despite agreeing to a long-term contract at Reading, he moved to Premier League Leicester City in December 1994.

Leicester were adrift in the relegation zone, and McGhee was unable to keep them up, finishing second bottom. He remained at Filbert Street after relegation and launched a promotion campaign, but left in December 1995 to take control at Wolverhampton Wanderers, taking assistant Colin Lee with him. Wolves had only five wins from their previous 21 games under Graham Taylor, and McGhee's first game was a 1-0 loss to Port Vale. He added midfielders Simon Osborn and Steve Corica and implemented a passing game.

The team had a strong start to 1996, reaching the verge of the play-offs by March, but failed to win any of their final eight fixtures, finishing 20th, three points clear of relegation. In the 1996-97 season, after signing Iwan Roberts, Wolves launched a promotion campaign. A poor run in the final ten games allowed Barnsley to snatch second place, condemning Wolves to the play-offs. McGhee's team lost 3-1 at Crystal Palace in the semi-final first leg after conceding two late goals, and despite a 2-1 victory in the return leg, they were eliminated.