Lee McCulloch

At 45 years old, Lee McCulloch has this physical status:

Lee Henry McCulloch (born 14 May 1978) is a Scottish footballer and mentor who is now assistant head coach at Scottish Championship club Dundee United. The Scotland national football team captained McCulloch on eighteen occasions.

He has played for Motherwell, Wigan Athletic, Rangers, and Kilmarnock at the club level throughout his career.

During his time with Rangers, he mainly served as a central defender or a defensive midfielder, but he has also played as an attacking midfielder and winger. McCulloch was appointed as a mentor at Kilmarnock towards the end of his playing career.

He was promoted interim manager in January 2016 and February 2017.

In June 2017, he was appointed to a permanent basis, but he left in September.

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Club career

McCulloch began his playing career at Motherwell's hometown club, who later learned from their youth system after playing at Rangers SABC (a boys' team affiliated with Rangers) with Barry Ferguson. McCulloch had an early interest in European football, beginning with a broken ankle injury while on loan with Carluke Rovers in 1995-96, and went on to score 27 goals in 147 appearances for the Steelmen following his debut against Raith Rovers on August 24, 1996. In a league match against Hibernian on January 31, 1998, he scored his first and second goals.

After scoring 12 and nine goals in consecutive seasons for Motherwell and several outstanding performances, other clubs began to pay attention to the young striker.

McCulloch joined Wigan Athletic in March 2001 for £700,000 (a then club signing record) on the same day as Motherwell teammate Steve McMillan. Wigan were plying their trade in the third tier of English football, but they were incredibly ambitious, and the young Scotsmen were included in their long-term plans. McCulloch scored his first goal for the club four weeks later in a 2–1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers on March 3rd.

McCulloch found himself increasingly involved in a left midfield role during Wigan's first season in the Premier League in 2005–06. He scored five league goals in 30 appearances, assisting Wigan to a 10th-place finish, and was a backup in the 2006 League Cup Final.

Rangers' £750,000 bid for McCulloch in January 2007. Wigan turned it down and labelled "derisory" by manager Paul Jewell, who dubbed it "derisory." McCulloch told BBC Sport in May that he would love to play for Rangers, and that Wigan Athletic Chris Hutchings, the current manager of Wigan Athletic, advised him that he would leave to Scotland in May. Rangers had a £1.5 million bid rejected on June 23rd, when Wigan said they wanted £2.5 million for McCulloch, who had scored 46 goals in 241 games.

Rangers signed McCulloch on a four-year contract with a transfer fee of £2.25 million on July 11, 2007. McCulloch scored on his debut in a 2–0 victory over FK Zeta on July 31, 2007. In Rangers' 3–0 victory over Lyon on October 2, 2007, he scored his first goal, a header from a corner, against DaMarcus Beasley.

McCulloch was sent off after 37 minutes after bouncing at Aberdeen's Scott Severin as a mass brawl began on Sunday, after Aberdeen's Chris Clark had scythed down Rangers defender Alan Hutton. McCulloch was the only player to be disqualified in the tense match. McCulloch also competed in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final and the 2008 Scottish Cup Final later this season. Rangers lost in the UEFA Cup Final but won a domestic cup double.

McCulloch's second season with Ibrox was also plagued by injuries. However, he did continue to play for the team in central defense and as a defensive midfielder. McCulloch won by a 4–1 victory in his first game of the 2009–10 season. In the 89th minute, Kris Boyd scored his second goal of the season against Hearts: a header that equalized for Rangers. McCulloch scored a header from a corner on January 3, 2010 to tie the game 1–1. This was McCulloch's first ever Old Firm goal. McCulloch made his debut in central midfield in 2009-2010.

McCulloch had signed a two-year contract extension on August 12, 2010, keeping him at the club until 2013. In which he set up the winner, he played his first game of the 2010–11 season against St. Johnstone. After limping off against Hearts, McCulloch went on to play 27 times before it was revealed that he'll need surgery to repair a cyst in his knee joint. McCulloch's versatility saw him play in attack, midfield, and defense, and he showed a strong line of form as a strong striker as the Rangers threadbare squad put together a good run of results following the club's change of administration. His contribution to the cause was never in question, and he made it clear from the start that regardless of what happened to the team, he would stay in Ibrox. Rangers' company and assets, as well as player registrations, were purchased by a brand new company led by Charles Green. Although many players left the fold, McCulloch was one of the few senior players to accept the transfer. Rangers also played in the Scottish Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system. Rangers defeated Brechin City 2–1 in the Scottish Challenge Cup on Friday, with Robson scoring in extra time to win the Scottish Challenge Cup for the second time on July 29th. After Carlos Bocanegra's retirement to Racing Santander on a season-long loan, McCulloch was given the captaincy on September 1st, 2012, and Rangers' contract commitments committed him until 2015.

In a 3–0 victory that clinched the League One championship on 12 March 12, McCulloch scored a hat trick against Airdrieonians. McCulloch was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in March 2014, as well as former Rangers players Nacho Novo and Fernando Ricksen. In the Scottish Challenge Cup against Clyde, which they defeated 8–1, he scored twice, and this was his first game of the season so far. In a 4–1 victory over Dumbarton, his first booking was in the Scottish Challenge Cup, where they lost 3–2. Since manager Ally McCoist was put on gardening leave in December 2014, McCulloch was named player/coach for the Rangers first team. McCulloch was harmed by some of the Rangers' support after he had made an error that resulted in a goal for Falkirk. McCulloch left Rangers at the end of his deal in July 2015. McCulloch said after leaving Rangers, that the 2014–15 season had been his worst in football, with the team struggling to gain promotion and off-field injuries affecting performances. He also stated that he wanted to speak out about the club's issues but that he was refused permission by the club hierarchy, but not allowed to do so.

McCulloch joined Kilmarnock as a player/coach in July 2015. After joining Kilmarnock, he said that although he had registered as a player, he did not intend to play many games for the club and that his primary goal would be to develop younger players. He made one appearance in total this season, beginning in a league match against Ross County before being forced to call off after forty-one minutes.

International career

McCulloch received his first international call-up to the Scotland national team in 2004, under then-manager Berti Vogts, and made his debut as a late replacement in a 1–1 draw with Moldova, the team's last match as manager. Walter Smith was in the squad intermittently after his arrival in 2004. He was involved in Smith's first three matches as boss against Italy, Moldova, and Belarus, and he was also included in the Kirin Cup matches against Bulgaria and Japan. He was involved in Scotland's historic 1–0 victory over France in October 2006 and then in Scotland's much-anticipated reverse fixture, which Scotland also won 1–0.

In Scotland's Euro 2008 qualifying win over Ukraine, he scored his first international goal. It was the second goal in a 3–1 win over Hampden Park in October 2007. McCulloch resigned from international football on September 8th, 2008, because he wanted to concentrate on his club obligations. McCulloch was recall to the national team following Craig Levein's appointment, and he made his first appearance since 2008 in a qualifier against Lithuania in September 2010.

Coaching career

McCulloch was fired on an interim basis after Gary Locke resigned on January 30, 2016, a goalless draw with his former team Rangers in the Scottish Cup; and a 2–0 victory over Motherwell in the league. Since Lee Clark was hired on a permanent basis in February 2016, he returned to his coaching roles.

In February 2017, when Clark left Kilmarnock to lead Bury, McCulloch and Peter Leven were put in temporary charge of the first team. Kilmarnock finished eighth in the Premiership in his interim charge until the end of the 2016–17 season. McCulloch was appointed Kilmarnock's boss on a permanent basis on June 5, 2017. McCulloch left Kilmarnock on October 1st, after the team failed to win any of their first eight league matches in 2017-18.

In January 2018, McCulloch was named assistant manager of Polish club Lechia Gda. He was assistant to Adam Owen, who had been a fitness coach at Rangers when McCulloch was playing for them. After Owen's dismissal seven weeks later, he left his position with Lechia Gda.

He was named strikers' coach by Robbie Neilson at Dundee United in January 2019, before being promoted to joint assistant head coach alongside Gordon Forrest in June 2019. He was appointed assistant manager at Heart of Midlothian in August 2020, following Neilson's resignation as boss.

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