Declan Gallagher

Declan Patrick Gallagher (born 13 February 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and the Scotland national team.

Declan Gallagher

Personal information
Full name	Declan Patrick Gallagher[1]
Date of birth	(1991-02-13) 13 February 1991
Place of birth	Rutherglen, Scotland
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position(s)	Centre-back
Club information
Current team	Motherwell
Number	31
Youth career
–	Hamilton Academical
–	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Celtic	0	(0)
2010–2011	→ Stranraer (loan)	26	(3)
2011–2012	Clyde	25	(2)
2012–2014	Dundee	60	(4)
2014–2016	Livingston	51	(2)
2017–2019	Livingston	84	(3)
2019–	Motherwell	34	(2)
National team^‡
2019–	Scotland	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:36, 15 August 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:53, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

Gallagher started his career at Celtic but never made a first team appearance, however he was involved in their Scottish Youth Cup win in 2010.[2] He was then sent out on loan to Stranraer to gain some first team experience. Despite impressing while on loan, he was released and was signed by Clyde before moving on to join Dundee. After experiencing a relegation followed by a promotion in two seasons at Dens Park, he joined Livingston in 2014.

In 2016, Gallagher was imprisoned for more than a year for assault which took place three years earlier, returning to the Livingston team as soon as he was released. He played regularly for Livingston in their consecutive promotions to the top division between 2017 and 2018. After moving to Motherwell in summer 2019, he made his Scotland debut in November of that year.

Career

Celtic, Stranraer loan

Born in Rutherglen, Gallagher (who also spent time in the setup at Hamilton Academical)[3] signed for Celtic at a young age and played for the under-19s. He became a regular in the team and played the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 victory over Rangers in the 2010 Scottish Youth Cup final.[2] While at Celtic, Gallagher says he trained with the first team, which "helps [my] match sharpness".[4]

He went out on loan to Stranraer in 2010–11.[5] Gallagher made his senior debut in a 9–0 win over St Cuthbert in the Scottish Cup and scored his first senior goal two weeks later as Stranraer beat Queen's Park 3–1. On 20 November 2010, he scored his second goal in five matches to help Stranraer beat Girvan 4–2 in the Scottish Cup.[6] Gallagher scored his final goal for Stranraer in a 3–2 loss to Montrose on 16 April 2011 and played his final game for the club as they defeated Clyde 3–0. Stranraer finished fifth, just missing out on a play-off place.[7]

Despite impressing while on loan, Gallagher was told he was not needed by Celtic, putting a number of clubs on alert. According to his teammate Nicky Riley, Gallagher left the Glasgow club "for the sake of his career".[8] After being released, he went on trial with Partick Thistle.[9]

Clyde

On 9 August 2011, Gallagher signed for Clyde.[10] He made his debut for the Bully Wee against Annan Athletic in a 2–2 draw and thereafter became a key player for the club. He scored his first goal for Clyde as they hammered East Stirlingshire 7–1 at Broadwood.[11] On 21 April 2012, he scored a last minute equaliser against Peterhead. During the 2011–12 season, Gallagher missed ten games due to injury.[12] At the end of the season, he had made 26 appearances and scored twice for Clyde.

Dundee

On 1 June 2012, Gallagher signed for an undisclosed fee for newly promoted Scottish Premier League (SPL) club Dundee, along with Carl Finnigan, after Rangers were removed from the league's membership, creating a space in the SPL.[13] One of his new teammates was former Celtic youth colleague Nicky Riley.[14] When joining Dundee, Gallagher stated that he never thought he was going to play in the top flight and the experience of playing in the SPL was "brilliant".[15]

He made his debut in a League Cup 0–0 draw against Peterhead (Dundee won on penalties);[16] he also played in the next round of the tournament, a defeat to Queens Park at Hampden. Gallagher became a regular in the first team and was paired in the centre of defence with Kyle Benedictus by manager Barry Smith.[17] In a match against Hearts on 2 November 2012, Gallagher made an impressive display during the match and was praised by the manager and teammate Riley.[8][18] Gallagher played against his former club Celtic on 26 December 2012 as Dundee lost 2–0.[19] In the last 16 of the Scottish Cup, Gallagher scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 win over Greenock Morton.[20] However, he was unable to prevent the club's relegation to the Scottish Championship.

In his second campaign at Dundee, Gallagher made a great start to the season, where he scored his first league goal in a 4–3 loss against Queen of the South in the opening matchday.[21] Two weeks later, on 30 August 2013, he scored again, in a 3–0 win over Livingston.[22] He scored two goals in two matches as Dundee beat Hamilton Academical 3–0 in late November [23] and Morton 2–1 in early December.[24]

Like his first season, Gallagher continuously remained as a first pick in defence. However, in January 2014, contract talks broke down between the club and the player's agent.[25] As a result, Gallagher was linked a move away from Dundee, "as Scottish Premiership and English League One clubs have been monitoring his situation".[26] He rejected offers of a new contract from Dundee,[27] and despite achieving the feat of playing every minute for the club during the league season as Dundee won promotion back to the Scottish Premiership,[28][29] he was among four players to leave the club at the end of the 2013–14 season.[30]

Livingston

Gallagher signed for Livingston in July 2014.[31] He scored on his league debut for the Lions in a 2–1 away defeat to Hibernian,[32] and was in the side which won the 2015 Scottish Challenge Cup Final, beating Alloa Athletic.[33]

Imprisonment and return to Livingston

Livingston chose not to renew Gallagher's contract in June 2015, after he and a co-defendant were convicted of assaulting their victim to his severe injury and danger of life at a hotel in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire on the evening of a wedding anniversary party in April 2013. In an attack described by the Sheriff as "brutal", Gallagher struck his victim to the head with a baseball bat or similar implement causing a fractured skull and was sentenced to three years in prison.[34][35][36][37] However, Gallagher and his co-accused appealed their sentences and were released on bail the following month, and he was re-signed by Livingston pending its outcome.[38] He went on to make 30 appearances in all competitions during the 2015–16 season up to February 2016,[37] when the conviction appeal was dismissed and he was ordered back to prison.[35]

After training with Raith Rovers during day release from HMP Castle Huntly,[37][39][36] in January 2017 Gallagher was liberated from prison, initially with an electronic monitoring tag.[39] He was immediately signed once again by Livingston[37][40] and went on to make 15 league appearances, scoring twice including in his return game,[39] as Livi were promoted back as winners of 2016–17 Scottish League One.[41]

Gallagher was a regular for Livingston as they finished runners-up in the 2017–18 Scottish Championship, and played in all four matches as the club subsequently defeated Dundee United and Partick Thistle in the play-offs to achieve a second consecutive promotion.[42]

On 4 August 2018, in his first Premiership match for five years, Gallagher conceded a penalty against his old employers Celtic, who beat Livingston 3–1.[43] The Lions had better fortunes against the other half of the 'Old Firm' two months later, defeating Rangers 1–0. [44][45]

Motherwell

On 11 April 2019, Motherwell announced that Gallagher had signed a pre-contract agreement to join the club in the summer.[46] On 26 December 2019, Gallagher scored a winning goal in the last minute of a league fixture away to Ross County.[47]

Ahead of the 2020–21 season, Gallagher was named as Motherwell's new club captain following the departure of Peter Hartley.[48]

International career

On 6 October 2019, Gallagher was called into the Scotland squad for the first time, ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Russia and San Marino.[49][50] He did not play in those matches, but made his debut the following month in a 2–1 win in Cyprus.[51][52]

Career statistics

As of 15 August 2020[53][29]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Scottish Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Celtic	2010–11[54]	Scottish Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stranraer (loan)	2010–11[54][55]	Scottish Third Division	26	3	4	1	0	0	0	0	30	4
Clyde	2011–12[56]	Scottish Third Division	25	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	27	2
Dundee	2012–13[57]	Scottish Premier League	24	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	27	1
	2013–14[58]	Scottish Championship	36	4	1	0	2	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	42	4
	Total		60	4	3	1	3	0	3	0	69	5
Livingston	2014–15[59]	Scottish Championship	28	1	0	0	2	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	33	1
	2015–16[60]	Scottish Championship	23	1	2	0	3	1	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	30	2
	2016–17[61]	Scottish League One	15	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	2
	2017–18[62]	Scottish Championship	31	0	2	0	5	0	5[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]	0	43	0
	2018–19[63]	Scottish Premiership	38	1	1	0	5	0	0	0	27	1
	Total		135	5	6	0	15	1	10	0	166	6
Motherwell	2019–20[64]	Scottish Premiership	30	2	2	0	4	0	0	0	36	2
	2020–21[65]	Scottish Premiership	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		34	2	2	0	4	0	0	0	40	2
Career total			280	16	16	2	23	1	13	0	332	19

1. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
2. 4 appearances in the Premiership play-offs

Honours

Celtic under-19

• Scottish Youth Cup: 2009–10[2]

Dundee

• Scottish Championship: 2013–14[28]

Livingston

• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2014–15[33]
• Scottish League One: 2016–17[41]

References

1. A Record of Post-war Scottish League Players 1946/47 to 2017/18. 7. John Litster and Scottish Football Historian magazine. 2018.
2. "Celtic win SFA Youth Cup". BBC News. 28 April 2010.
3. Accies 1-0 Livingston, Hamilton Academical F.C., 3 November 2018
4. "Scottish Cup: Training with top Celtic stars has prepared me for Motherwell, admits Stranraer loan star Declan Gallagher". Daily Record. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
5. "Stranraer loan hoops youngster". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
6. "Stranraer appearances and goals". ESPN.
7. "Division Three: Montrose 3 Stranraer 2". Daily Record. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
8. "Nicky Riley delighted to see Dundee new boy Declan Gallagher return to form after move from Celtic". Daily Record. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
9. "Jackie says Jags will be Well fired up for next test". Glasgow Evening Times. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
10. "Gallagher Joins The Bully Wee". Official website. Clyde FC. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
11. "Clyde 7–1 East Stirling".
12. "Clyde decimated with long-term injuries". Evening Times. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
13. "Dundee sign Carl Finnigan and Declan Gallagher". 1 June 2012 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
14. "Dundee newboy Declan Gallagher tipped to be Dens Park star by Nicky Riley". Daily Record. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
15. "Dundee starlet Gallagher taking things one step at a time". Evening Telegraph. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
16. "Scottish Communities League Cup: Peterhead 0 Dundee 0 (Dundee win 4–1 on pens)". Daily Record. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
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34. "Footballer Declan Gallagher jailed for baseball attack at Parkville Hotel, Blantyre". Daily Record. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
35. "Footballer Declan Gallagher jailed as assault appeal refused". The Scotsman. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
36. "Victims' fury as bat thug footballer Declan Gallagher gets day release at Raith Rovers". Daily Record. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
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38. "Livingston re-sign Declan Gallagher pending jail appeal". BBC Sport. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
39. "Livingston stopper Declan Gallagher opens up on life in prison and how he'll grab second chance in football". Daily Record. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
40. "Livingston FC: Declan Gallagher signs for Lions following release from prison". Daily Record. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
41. "Livingston 2–1 Alloa Athletic". Livingston F.C. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
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43. "Celtic 3-1 Livingston: Rogic, Edouard & Ntcham score for champions". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
44. "Declan Gallagher hits back at unprofessional Rangers players over taunts". The Scotsman. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
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52. Lamont, Alasdair (16 November 2019). "Cyprus 1-2 Scotland: Team showed character after half-time warning - Liam Palmer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
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