SFWA Manager of the Year
Martin O'Neill won the award three times during his five seasons with Celtic
Awarded forThe outstanding manager in each given Scottish football season
CountryScotland
Presented byScottish Football Writers' Association
First awarded1987
Last awarded2023
Manager of the SeasonAnge Postecoglou
Most awardsWalter Smith (7)

The Scottish Football Writers' Association Manager of the Year (often called the SFWA Manager of the Year, or simply the Scottish Manager of the Year) award is given to the manager in Scottish football who is seen to have been the best manager of the previous season. The award is voted for by the members of the Scottish Football Writers' Association.

The award was first given in 1987, and was won by Dundee United boss Jim McLean. The award has been won by a manager in the top division of the Scottish football league system in all but two years, 1990, when the award went to Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh and 1995 when the award was given to Jimmy Nicholl who managed Raith Rovers in the First Division. There is a similar award made by PFA Scotland, the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year, which was first given in 2007.

List of winners

As of 2023, the award has been presented 37 times and won by 24 different managers. Walter Smith (7), Neil Lennon (3), Martin O'Neill (3), Dick Advocaat (2), Steve Clarke (2) and Ange Postecoglou (2) have won the award more than once.

Season Manager Club Notes Ref
1986–87 Jim McLean Dundee United [citation needed]
1987–88 Billy McNeill Celtic [citation needed]
1988–89 Graeme Souness Rangers [citation needed]
1989–90 Andy Roxburgh Scotland [citation needed]
1990–91 Alex Totten St Johnstone [citation needed]
1991–92 Walter Smith Rangers [citation needed]
1992–93 Walter Smith Rangers [citation needed]
1993–94 Walter Smith Rangers [citation needed]
1994–95 Jimmy Nicholl Raith Rovers [citation needed]
1995–96 Walter Smith Rangers [citation needed]
1996–97 Walter Smith Rangers [citation needed]
1997–98 Wim Jansen Celtic [citation needed]
1998–99 Dick Advocaat Rangers [citation needed]
1999–00 Dick Advocaat Rangers [citation needed]
2000–01 Martin O'Neill Celtic [citation needed]
2001–02 Martin O'Neill Celtic [citation needed]
2002–03 Alex McLeish Rangers [citation needed]
2003–04 Martin O'Neill Celtic [citation needed]
2004–05 Tony Mowbray Hibernian [1]
2005–06 Gordon Strachan Celtic [2]
2006–07 Gordon Strachan Celtic Also won the PFA Scotland award [3]
2007–08 Walter Smith Rangers [citation needed]
2008–09 Csaba László Heart of Midlothian [4]
2009–10 Walter Smith Rangers Also won the PFA Scotland award [5]
2010–11 Mixu Paatelainen Kilmarnock [6]
2011–12 Neil Lennon Celtic [7]
2012–13 Neil Lennon Celtic [8]
2013–14 Derek McInnes Aberdeen Also won the PFA Scotland award [9]
2014–15 John Hughes Inverness Caledonian Thistle Also won the PFA Scotland award [10]
2015–16 Jim McIntyre Ross County [11]
2016–17 Brendan Rodgers Celtic Also won the PFA Scotland award [citation needed]
2017–18 Steve Clarke Kilmarnock [12]
2018–19 Steve Clarke Kilmarnock Also won the PFA Scotland award [13]
2019–20 Neil Lennon Celtic [14][15]
2020–21 Steven Gerrard Rangers Also won the PFA Scotland award [16]
2021–22 Ange Postecoglou Celtic Also won the PFA Scotland award [17]
2022–23 Ange Postecoglou Celtic Also won the PFA Scotland award [18]

Winners by club

Club Number of wins Winning seasons
Celtic 13 1987–88, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23
Rangers 12 1988–89, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2020–21
Kilmarnock 3 2010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 2014–15
Aberdeen 1 2013–14
Heart of Midlothian 1 2008–09
Hibernian 1 2004–05
Raith Rovers 1 1994–95
Ross County 1 2015–16
St Johnstone 1 1990–91
Scotland national team 1 1989–90
Dundee United 1 1986–87

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hartson wins writers' top prize". BBC Sport. 2 May 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Strachan is writers' boss of year". BBC Sport. 13 April 2006.
  3. ^ "Nakamura gets top writers' prize". BBC Sport. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  4. ^ Forsyth, Roddy (13 May 2009). "Csaba Laszlo gets second Scotland manager of the year award". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Davis crowned player of the year". BBC Sport. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  6. ^ "More awards for Izaguirre, Goodwillie and Paatelainen". BBC Sport. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  7. ^ Fisher, Stewart (6 May 2012). "Title just the start for Lennon". Sunday Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  8. ^ Smith, Andrew (12 May 2013). "Lennon says winning manager of year 'a privilege'". Scotland on Sunday. Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  9. ^ Forsyth, Roddy (4 May 2014). "Derek McInnes hits the heights with Aberdeen after suffering pain of failure at Bristol City". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  10. ^ Gordon, Moira (23 May 2015). "John Hughes still inspired by tragic Craig Gowans". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  11. ^ McArthur, Euan (13 May 2016). "Paatelainen's fate not lost on McIntyre as Ross County manager counts his blessings". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Steve Clarke wins SWFA Manager of the Year award". Kilmarnock FC. 13 May 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  13. ^ @scottishfwa (May 9, 2019). "SFWA Awards shortlist - Manager of the Year sponsored by William Hill - Dick Campbell, Steve Clarke, Gary Holt, Shelley Kerr. #SFWA #Footballwriters" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 May 2019 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Shankland, Edouard, McGregor & Morelos in writers' award frame". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Neil Lennon is manager of the year". SFWA. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Steven Gerrard: Rangers boss wins Scottish writers' manager award". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  17. ^ Alexander, Douglas (8 May 2022). "Ange Postecoglou: Celtic needed a major rebuild but I've only scratched the surface". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 8 May 2022. Yet a year later and Postecoglou is a double manager of the year, having added the Scottish Football Writers' Association award to the PFA Scotland accolade he received last weekend.
  18. ^ "Ange Postecoglou wins Manager of the Year". scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
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