How is ex-Coventry City and Birmingham City star Gary McSheffrey getting on? | OneFootball

LW provides an update on former Coventry City ace Gary McSheffrey, who won two promotions with Birmingham City

Former left-winger Gary McSheffrey spent the early years of his professional football career with his hometown club, Coventry City.

He made over 140 appearances for the Sky Blues from 1998-2006, while also enduring loan spells with Swedish outfit IK Brage, Stockport County and Luton Town between 2001 and 2004.

In 2006, McSheffrey moved to fellow West Midlands side Birmingham City, where he would remain until 2010, while his Blues stint also included loan moves, as he had temporary spells with both Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.

The former wideman re-joined the Sky Blues following his St Andrew's days, while his second spell with his hometown club lasted until 2013, before he went on to represent the likes of Chesterfield, Scunthorpe United, then of the Football League, and Doncaster Rovers.

McSheffrey's playing days ended in 2020 following brief stints in non-league with Frickley Athletic and Rossington Main.

What is McSheffrey up to now?

Since hanging up his playing boots, McSheffrey has ventured into the world of coaching, but was dismissed from his managerial duties at Doncaster in October 2022, after winning just 14 of his 46 games in charge of Rovers.

But since his unsuccessful spell with Rovers, the former Sky Blues man has not given up on his managerial dreams, and as per his LinkedIn profile, he was recently appointed as Sheffield United's Under-21 lead coach, following a successful period as an Individual Development Coach with the Blades, a role in which he led training sessions with academy strikers aged under 14 to under 21.

McSheffrey also celebrated an educational milestone back in June, as he completed his LMA Diploma in Football Management at the University of Liverpool.

The former wideman turned 42 last month, and thanked the Sky Blues on X for their 'happy birthday' wishes on 13th August.

McSheffrey holds a UEFA A License, while supporters of his former clubs, including the Sky Blues, will all wish him well on his coaching journey following his recent appointment at the Blades.

McSheffrey had a successful career

As per Planet Sport, when the former wideman made his top-flight debut for the Sky Blues in 1999 against Aston Villa aged 16 years and 198 days, he was the youngest ever player to feature in the Premier League, a record he held for nine years.

During his first spell with the Sky Blues, McSheffrey scored 53 goals, before joining Birmingham, then managed by Steve Bruce, in 2006.

He made 83 appearances for the Blues, prior to his Sky Blues return, while during his younger days he represented the England Under-20s, but never went on to play for the Three Lions at senior level.

McSheffrey is best remembered for his remarkable Football League career, in which he won an impressive six promotions, the first of which came in 2004/05 as he lifted the League One title with Luton.

He subsequently won automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League with the Blues on two occasions, at the end of the 2006/07 and 2008/09 seasons.

The ex-winger was also a member of the Leeds team who won promotion from League One back to the second tier following a successful 2009/10 campaign.

During the 2010s, he won two promotions from League Two to the third tier with both Scunthorpe and Doncaster, in 2014 and 2017 respectively.