EPL

How bosses have fared after arriving in Premier League from Scottish Premiership

By Sports Desk June 06, 2023

Ange Postecoglou has swapped Celtic for Tottenham as the north London club’s permanent successor to former head coach Antonio Conte.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the most recent managers to move from the Scottish to the English top flight, and how they fared.

Steven Gerrard

The former Liverpool and England captain took over at Rangers in 2018, finishing second behind Celtic in his first two seasons – and also losing the 2020 League Cup final to them – before breaking through to win the 2020-21 Premiership in an unbeaten season to deny Celtic a 10th title in a row.

He was appointed at Aston Villa early the following season, with a reported £4million compensation payment to Rangers, but was unable to improve Villa’s results.

They finished 14th that season and he was sacked after a poor start to 2022-23, with Unai Emery taking over and leading Villa into Europe. Meanwhile, north of the border, Postecoglou had taken over Celtic and re-established their dominance.

Gerrard managed 13 wins in 40 games as Villa boss, a 32.5 per cent win rate.

Paul Heckingbottom

Heckingbottom left Hibernian in November 2019 and, having been out of work for much of the season, became Sheffield United Under-23 coach in July 2020.

He took over as interim manager after Chris Wilder was sacked in March 2021 but won only three of 11 games as the club’s relegation was confirmed.

Having lost out on the permanent job to Slavisa Jokanovic, he took over six months later after the Serbian’s dismissal and has led the Blades back to the top flight for the new season, winning 48 of 83 games in his current reign.

Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers was already an established name in England after spells at Reading and Liverpool, but it was at Celtic where he built his medal collection with back-to-back domestic trebles – adding the League Cup leg of a third before departing for Leicester in February 2019 and leaving Neil Lennon to finish the job.

With the Foxes he won the FA Cup in 2020-21 and reached the Europa League semi-final the following season, with league finishes of ninth, fifth, fifth and eighth as they twice missed out on the Champions League on the final day.

He was sacked in April with the club 19th in the league, with successor Dean Smith unable to save them from relegation. Rodgers won 92 of 204 Leicester games in all competitions, 45.1 per cent.

Alex McLeish

McLeish’s spell with Rangers brought him two league titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups, including a treble in 2002-03, following a second-placed finish with Motherwell and a promotion with Hibernian.

That earned him the Scotland job but he led them for only 12 games before returning to club management south of the border with Birmingham.

Blues were relegated in his first season in charge but bounced straight back, finished ninth in 2009-10 and won the 2011 League Cup after Obafemi Martins’ late winner against Arsenal.

That same season brought a second relegation, though, and McLeish resigned after 168 games in charge with a 36.9 per cent win rate.

Related items

  • Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure

    Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.

    The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.

    In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.

    He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.

    "It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.

    "It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."

    Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.

  • Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea

    Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.

    The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.

    The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.

    Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.

    The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.

    "The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.

    "I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.

    "I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.

    "He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."

    Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.

    Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.

    The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.

    "We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.

    "That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.

    "Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.

    "I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."

  • Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega

    Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

    The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham. 

    Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later. 

    Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.

    However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.

    "I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote. 

    "The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.

    "At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title. 

    "But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."

    Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.