Stephen Robinson (footballer)

{{similar names|Steve Robinson (disambiguation){{!}}Steve Robinson}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Stephen Robinson

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Stephen Robinson{{Cite book | editor1-first = Barry J. | editor1-last = Hugman | title = The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005 | publisher = Queen Anne Press | year = 2005 | page = 530 | isbn = 1-85291-665-6 }}

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|12|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Lisburn, Northern Ireland

| currentclub = St Mirren (manager)

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 = 1991–1993

| youthclubs1 = Tottenham Hotspur

| years1 = 1993–1994

| clubs1 = Tottenham Hotspur

| caps1 = 2

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 1994

| clubs2 = → Leyton Orient (loan)

| caps2 = 0

| goals2 = 0

| years3 = 1994–2000

| clubs3 = AFC Bournemouth

| caps3 = 241

| goals3 = 52

| years4 = 2000–2002

| clubs4 = Preston North End

| caps4 = 24

| goals4 = 1

| years5 = 2002

| clubs5 = → Bristol City (loan)

| caps5 = 6

| goals5 = 1

| years6 = 2002–2008

| clubs6 = Luton Town

| caps6 = 185

| goals6 = 8

| totalcaps = 458

| totalgoals = 62

| nationalyears1 = 1989

| nationalteam1 = Northern Ireland U16

| nationalcaps1 = 1

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 1991

| nationalteam2 = Northern Ireland U18

| nationalcaps2 = 2

| nationalgoals2 = 1

| nationalyears3 = 1994

| nationalteam3 = Northern Ireland U21

| nationalcaps3 = 1

| nationalgoals3 = 0

| nationalyears4 = 1994–1998

| nationalteam4 = Northern Ireland B

| nationalcaps4 = 4

| nationalgoals4 = 1

| nationalyears5 = 1997–2007

| nationalteam5 = Northern Ireland

| nationalcaps5 = 7

| nationalgoals5 = 0

| manageryears1 = 2016–2017

| managerclubs1 = Oldham Athletic

| manageryears2 = 2017–2020

| managerclubs2 = Motherwell

| manageryears3 = 2021–2022

| managerclubs3 = Morecambe

| manageryears4 = 2022–

| managerclubs4 = St Mirren

}}

Stephen Robinson (born 10 December 1974) is a former football player and coach, who manages Scottish Premiership club St Mirren.

During his career he played for Tottenham Hotspur, Leyton Orient, AFC Bournemouth, Preston North End, Bristol City, Luton Town and Northern Ireland. Robinson has managed Oldham Athletic, Motherwell, Morecambe and St Mirren.

Early life

Robinson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.{{Hugman|16964|accessdate=24 October 2017}}

Club career

Robinson began his career with the Tottenham Hotspur youth system as a trainee, signing a professional contract in January 1994. He joined AFC Bournemouth due to the lack of first team opportunities at Tottenham. After a highly successful time at Bournemouth, Robinson joined Preston North End in 2000. After failing to force himself into Preston's starting XI, he joined Bristol City on loan until the end of the 2001–02 season.

After this he joined Luton Town for a fee of £50,000 in 2002. He was forced to play on the right-wing by then manager Joe Kinnear, despite his position being an attacking centre-midfielder in his Bournemouth days. New manager Mike Newell soon reverted Robinson to his favoured central-midfield role, and he was rewarded with a League One championship in 2005, and a tenth-place finish in the Championship in 2006. During the 2006–07 season, Robinson captained the side in Chris Coyne's absence and was handed a new two-year contract by Hatters boss Mike Newell. On 26 July 2008 Robinson agreed to a mutual termination of his contract at Luton.

International career

Robinson was capped internationally by Northern Ireland on seven occasions from 1997 to 2007.{{NFT player|id=10316|name=Robinson, Steve|accessdate = 20 April 2011}} He also played for the under-16 (one cap), under-18 (two caps, one goal), under-21 (one cap) and B (four caps, one goal) teams.{{Cite news

| title = Steve Robinson

| url = http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2007/09/steve-robinson.html

| publisher = NIFG

| date = 12 September 2007

| access-date = 20 April 2011}}

Coaching career

=Motherwell assistant=

Robinson joined Motherwell in February 2015, to assist manager Ian Baraclough.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31452145 |work=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |title=Motherwell appoint Steve Robinson as assistant manager |date=13 February 2015 |access-date=10 July 2016}} He also assisted the Northern Ireland national team, working with Michael O'Neill, that qualified for UEFA Euro 2016. Robinson was previously manager of the under-age Northern Ireland squads, working for the Irish Football Association.

=Oldham Athletic=

Robinson was appointed manager of Oldham Athletic in July 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36739939 |title=Stephen Robinson: Oldham appoint Northern Ireland assistant as new manager |work=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |date=9 July 2016 |access-date=10 July 2016}} He was replaced as manager by John Sheridan on 12 January 2017.

=Motherwell=

Robinson returned to Motherwell in February 2017, this time to assist Mark McGhee as first team coach.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/why-motherwell-have-the-perfect-manager-in-stephen-robinson-1-4968097|title = Why Motherwell have the perfect manager in Stephen Robinson}} Less than two weeks later, Robinson took over as interim manager following McGhee's departure from the club.{{cite web |url=http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2017/02/28/club-statement-mark-mcghee/ |title=Club statement: Mark McGhee |publisher=Motherwell FC |date=28 February 2017 |access-date=28 February 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39115382 |title=Mark McGhee: Motherwell part with manager after run of bad results |work=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |date=28 February 2017 |access-date=28 February 2017}} He was subsequently appointed as manager on a permanent basis in March 2017.{{cite news|title=Motherwell: Stephen Robinson appointed manager at Fir Park|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39285395|access-date=15 March 2017|work=BBC Sport|date=15 March 2017}} On 13 October 2017, Manager Robinson extended his contract with Motherwell until May 2020.{{cite web|title=Robinson signs extended deal|url=http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2017/10/13/robinson-signs-extended-deal/|website=motherwellfc.co.uk|publisher=Motherwell F.C.|access-date=13 October 2017|date=13 October 2017}}

On 22 October 2017, Robinson guided Motherwell to the Scottish League Cup final after defeating Pedro Caixinha's Rangers 2–0 at Hampden. The game saw both managers sent to the stands for their behaviour on the touchline.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41683732|title=Rangers 0-2 Motherwell|last=McVake|first=Roddie|date=22 October 2017|work=BBC Sport|access-date=22 October 2017}} They were defeated in the final 2–0 by Celtic.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42056522 |title=Motherwell 0–2 Celtic|date=26 November 2017|work=BBC Sport|access-date=16 April 2018}} In April 2018, Motherwell won in the 2017–18 Scottish Cup semi-finals, overcoming Aberdeen 3–0, to set up another final with Celtic the following month;{{cite news| url = http://www.skysports.com/football/motherwell-vs-aberdeen/report/388845 | title = Main fires Motherwell to final | publisher = Sky Sports | date = 14 April 2018| access-date = 16 April 2018}} this was the first time the club had appeared in both domestic finals since the 1950–51 season.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43784121 |title=Motherwell: Liam Grimshaw delighted with club's double final feat |work=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |date=16 April 2018 |access-date=16 April 2018}}

On 27 September 2019, Robinson said clubs had a duty of care in relation to players' mental well-being if they were injured.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49850522|title=Motherwell: Clubs have duty of care for players' wellbeing - Robinson|first=Scott|last=Mullen|date=27 September 2019 |work=BBC Sport|publisher=BBC|access-date=6 December 2019}}

On 31 December 2020, Robinson resigned as Motherwell manager, after over three years in charge of the Lanarkshire side.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55496622 |title=Stephen Robinson resigns as Motherwell manager |website=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |date=31 December 2020 |access-date=31 December 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2020/12/31/stephen-robinson-resigns-as-motherwell-manager/|title=Stephen Robinson resigns as Motherwell manager|date=31 December 2020}}

=Morecambe=

On 7 June 2021, Robinson was named as manager of newly promoted League One side Morecambe on a three-year deal.{{cite web|url=https://www.morecambefc.com/news/2021/june/stephen-robinson-announced-as-new-shrimps-boss/|title=STEPHEN ROBINSON ANNOUNCED AS NEW SHRIMPS BOSS|website=www.morecambefc.com|date=7 June 2021}}

=St Mirren=

Robinson returned to Scottish football in February 2022, becoming manager of St Mirren.{{cite web |url=https://news.stv.tv/sport/stephen-robinson-replaces-jim-goodwin-as-st-mirren-manager |title=Stephen Robinson appointed as the new St Mirren manager |website=STV Sport |date=22 February 2022 |access-date=22 February 2022 |first=Raman |last=Bhardwaj}}

Personal life

His son Harry is also a footballer.{{cite web|url=https://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/10/oldham-athletic-news/103145/latics-fight-off-rivals-for-robbos-signature|title=Latics fight off rivals for Robbo's signature|website=www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk}}

Robinson was accused of assaulting and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards his partner, Robyn Lauchlan, on Waverley Bridge in Edinburgh on 13 December 2019. He was found not guilty after a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in February 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/motherwell-manager-stephen-robinson-found-21599627|title=Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson found not guilty of assaulting his partner|website=dailyrecord.co.uk|date=28 February 2020}}

Career statistics

=Club=

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|FA Cup !colspan="2"\|League Cup !colspan="2"\|Other !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{cite web\|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=6827\|title=Stephen Robinson\|publisher=Soccerbase\|access-date=7 July 2020}}
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tottenham Hotspur \|1993–94 \|Premier League \|2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
rowspan="5"\|AFC Bournemouth \|1996–97 \|rowspan="4"\|Second Division \|40	7	1	0	1	0	0	0	42	7
1997–98 \|46	11	3	2	2	0	5	0	56	13
1998–98 \|42	13	4	1	4	1	3	1	53	16
1999–2000 \|40	9	3	1	4	0	2	0	49	10
colspan="2"\|Total !168	40	11	4	11	1	10	1	200	46
rowspan="3"\|Preston North End \|2000–01 \|rowspan="2"\|First Division \|22	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	25	1
2001–02 \|2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
colspan="2"\|Total !24	1	1	0	4	0	0	0	29	0
Bristol City \|2001–02 \|Second Division \|6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
rowspan="7"\|Luton Town \|2002–03 \|rowspan="2"\|Second Division \|29	1	2	0	2	0	1	0	34	1
2003–04 \|34	2	4	1	0	0	2	0	40	3
2004–05 \|League One \|31	4	2	0	1	0	0	0	34	4
2005–06 \|rowspan="2"\|Championship \|26	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	27	3
2006–07 \|38	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	42	0
2007–08 \|League One \|27	1	3	0	3	0	1	0	34	1
colspan="2"\|Total !185	11	15	1	5	0	4	0	211	12
colspan="3"\|Overall !385	53	27	5	20	1	14	1	448	59

=International=

class=wikitable style=text-align:center \|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{citation needed\|date=January 2020}}
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
rowspan="11!\|Northern Ireland \|1997 \|1 \|0
1998 \|0 \|0
1999 \|0 \|0
2000 \|1 \|0
2001 \|2 \|0
2002 \|0 \|0
2003 \|0 \|0
2004 \|1 \|0
2005 \|1 \|0
2006 \|0 \|0
2007 \|1 \|0
colspan="2"\|Total !7	0

class=wikitable style=text-align:center

|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

National team

Year

Apps

Goals

rowspan="11!|Northern Ireland

|1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

colspan="2"|Total

Managerial record

{{updated|match played 26 April 2025}}{{cite web |title=Managers: Steve Robinson |url=http://www.soccerbase.com/managers/manager.sd?manager_id=4014 |work=Soccerbase |publisher=Centurycomm |access-date=3 September 2016}}

class=wikitable style="text-align: center" \|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
rowspan="2"\|Team !rowspan="2"\|From !rowspan="2"\|To !colspan="9"\|Record
{{Tooltip\|G\|Games managed}} !{{Tooltip\|W\|Games won}} !{{Tooltip\|D\|Games drawn}} !{{Tooltip\|L\|Games lost}} !{{Tooltip\|Win %\|Winning percentage}}
align=left\|Oldham Athletic \|align=left\|9 July 2016 \|align=left\|12 January 2017 {{WDL\|33\|7\|11\|15\|decimals=1}}
align=left\|Motherwell \|align=left\|28 February 2017 \|align=left\|31 December 2020 {{WDL\|169\|71\|30\|68\|decimals=1}}
align=left\|Morecambe \|align=left\|7 June 2021 \|align=left\|22 February 2022 {{WDL\|40\|10\|10\|20\|decimals=1}}
align=left\|St Mirren \|align=left\|22 February 2022 \|align=left\|Present {{WDL\|144\|49\|30\|65\|decimals=1}}
colspan="3"\|Total {{WDLtot\|386\|137\|81\|168\|decimals=1}}

class=wikitable style="text-align: center"

|+ Managerial record by team and tenure

rowspan="2"|Team

!rowspan="2"|From

!rowspan="2"|To

!colspan="9"|Record

!{{Tooltip|W|Games won}}

!{{Tooltip|D|Games drawn}}

!{{Tooltip|L|Games lost}}

!{{Tooltip|Win %|Winning percentage}}

align=left|Oldham Athletic

|align=left|9 July 2016

|align=left|12 January 2017

align=left|Motherwell

|align=left|28 February 2017

|align=left|31 December 2020

align=left|Morecambe

|align=left|7 June 2021

|align=left|22 February 2022

align=left|St Mirren

|align=left|22 February 2022

|align=left|Present

colspan="3"|Total

Honours

=As a player=

;AFC Bournemouth

Football League Trophy runner-up: 1997–98

;Luton Town

League One: 2004–05

Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 1998–99 Second Division{{cite book |editor-first=Barry J. |editor-last=Hugman |title=The 1999–2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile |year=1999 |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=Harpenden |isbn=978-1-85291-607-7 |page=352}}

=As a manager=

;Motherwell

Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month: February 2019{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47494249 |title=Motherwell: Hastie & Robinson pick up February Scottish Premiership awards |publisher=BBC Sport |date=8 March 2019 |access-date=8 March 2019}}

;St Mirren