John Potter (footballer)

John Potter

Potter playing for St Mirren
Personal information
Full name	John Potter
Date of birth	15 December 1979
Place of birth	Dunfermline, Scotland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Dunfermline Athletic (player/coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1997–1999	Celtic	0	(0)
1999–2002	Dunfermline Athletic	25	(1)
2002–2005	Clyde	88	(5)
2005–2011	St Mirren	196	(1)
2011–2016	Dunfermline Athletic	30	(0)
2012	→ Queen of the South (loan)	13	(1)
Teams managed
2014–2015	Dunfermline Athletic
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 May 2014. † Appearances (goals)

John Potter (born 15 December 1979 in Dunfermline), is a Scottish football player, who is currently the head coach of Dunfermline Athletic, returning to this role after a short, unsuccessful spell in charge as manager.^[1]

Potter was brought up in High Valleyfield; a small mining village which has produced numerous talents in the past including: Hugh Kelly, George Connelly and John Fraser. He is the cousin of Craig Potter and the younger brother of former Raith Rovers goalkeeper, and current Hamilton goalkeeping coach, Brian Potter.

Career

Potter began his career at Celtic, but failed to make a senior appearance for them. Potter was highly rated at Celtic Park and captained the reserve side, most notably on 16 February 1999, when Mark Viduka made his first appearance in a Celtic shirt in a 4–2 victory against Motherwell. Potter travelled to Portugal with the first team squad and was an unused substitute in Wim Jansen's final game in charge against Sporting Lisbon, but a change in management from Jansen to Josef Venglos signalled the end of Potter's career at the club.

After leaving Celtic, Potter joined hometown team Dunfermline Athletic and spent three years at East End Park. In 2002, he joined Clyde. He made his debut on the same day he joined Clyde, in an evening fixture against Partick Thistle. At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Potter was appointed captain of Clyde, and started every single game for the Bully Wee that season.

He joined St Mirren in July 2005 and won promotion to the Scottish Premier League in his first season. At the beginning of the 2008–09 campaign, Saint's manager Gus MacPherson named Potter as captain, a position he held for three seasons. However, towards the end of the 2010-11 season, Potter - along with 9 other players at St Mirren - was told that his contract would not be renewed and he would be allowed to leave the club on a free transfer.

After seeing out his contract at St Mirren, Potter joined his former St Mirren team mate Paul Gallacher at Dunfermline Athletic,^[2] beginning his second spell at the club. He became U20s player/coach assisted by Craig Dargo in 2012. Potter took control of the first team in December 2014, after Jim Jefferies left the club.^[3] It was announced at the end of the season that, after failing to secure promotion or a play off position, Potter would step down as Manager of the club and return to his position as Head Coach.^[4] Although having not played since May 2014,^[5] Potter was registered as a player for the Pars during the 2015–16 season, and was an unused substitute in a number of first-team matches.

Managerial statistics

As of 2 May 2015

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Dunfermline Athletic		16 December 2014	2 May 2015	20	5	6	9	25.00

References

1. "Dunfermline Athletic: John Potter axed as manager". BBC Sport. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
2. "John Potter poised for return to Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
3. "Jim Jefferies resigns as Dunfermline manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
4. "DAFC Board Statement". DAFC. DAFC.co.uk. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
5. "Dunfermline Athletic 1–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2016.

External links

• John Potter career statistics at Soccerbase