Billy Dodds

Club career

Born in New Cumnock, Dodds began his career with English club Chelsea in 1986. He made his senior debut on loan to Partick Thistle in 1987–88. After only three appearances for Chelsea, he transferred to Dundee in 1989, scoring 68 league goals in 174 appearances and winning the Scottish First Division title in 1991–92, also scoring a hat-trick in the 1990 Scottish Challenge Cup Final. He moved to St Johnstone for a club record £400,000 in January 1994 but left for Aberdeen within six months.

Aberdeen paid a record £800,000 for him; he scored crucial goals to avoid relegation in 1994–95 and was part of the side that won the 1995–96 Scottish League Cup, scoring in the final against his former club Dundee after netting both goals in the semi-final. In September 1998, Aberdeen used Dodds and £700,000 to swap for Robbie Winters from Dundee United. At United, his full debut featured a hat-trick against former club St Johnstone, and he scored 25 goals in 45 league appearances.

In December 1999, Rangers manager Dick Advocaat signed Dodds for £1.3m after injuries to forwards Michael Mols and Jonatan Johansson. He was part of the squad that won a League and Scottish Cup double in 2000 and a cup double in 2002, describing his time at Rangers as 'the pinnacle of my career'. With first-team opportunities limited under new manager Alex McLeish, he returned to Dundee United in January 2003 in a swap for Steven Thompson, scoring the first equaliser in a 2–2 draw on his second debut.

International career

Dodds earned his first Scotland cap on 5 October 1996 against Latvia while at Aberdeen, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute in a 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier win in Riga. He started the next fixture against Estonia in Tallinn four days later, but a scheduling dispute led to the match being abandoned at kick-off with no caps awarded; the re-arranged fixture in February did not include him. His form at Dundee United brought him back into the Scotland squad after a twelve-month absence.

While with United, he featured in ten competitive internationals, including the UEFA Euro 2000 play-off matches against England, scoring four times during qualifying. His first two goals came against Estonia at Tynecastle Park, and he scored a long-range winner away to Bosnia and Herzegovina. He continued to be selected at Rangers, earning his 26th and final cap in September 2001 against Belgium, a 2–0 loss that ended Scotland's hopes of qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored three times in that group, bringing his total to seven international goals, all in competitive matches.

Coaching career

Gordon Chisholm appointed Dodds as strikers' coach at Queen of the South. The club reached the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, losing 3–2 to Rangers, which earned them a place in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. When Chisholm became manager of Dundee in March 2010, Dodds joined as his assistant. In October 2010, as Dundee entered administration, both were made redundant by administrator Bryan Jackson.

Dodds later objected to the company voluntary arrangement that took Dundee out of administration in 2011. On 9 September 2014, he became assistant manager to Jim McIntyre at Ross County, leaving on 25 September 2017 when both were sacked. When McIntyre was appointed Dundee manager in October 2018, Dodds was linked with the assistant role, but Dundee fans objected due to his vote against the CVA, and Jimmy Boyle was appointed instead. Dodds joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle as assistant to interim manager Neil McCann late in the 2020–21 season after John Robertson went on compassionate leave.

At season's end, Inverness appointed Dodds as head coach, with Robertson becoming sporting director. In his first full season, he guided Inverness to the Premiership playoff final, losing 6–2 on aggregate to St Johnstone despite an 11-game winless streak. In his second season, they reached the 2023 Scottish Cup final, losing 3–1 to Celtic, though their appearance came only after fellow Championship side Queens Park fielded an ineligible player. Dodds and assistant Barry Wilson were sacked on 17 September 2023 with the team bottom of the Championship, having one point from five league games and being eliminated from the Challenge Cup and League Cup.

On 24 February 2025, he was appointed assistant manager at Rangers under interim head coach Barry Ferguson. On 6 January 2026, he became assistant manager of Kilmarnock, working with Neil McCann.