Ex-Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday & Aston Villa man lands exciting new job | OneFootball

A former Championship, Premier League and international star has landed his first managerial position, but it will be in Scotland rather than England.

A former Championship and Premier League star with almost 700 career appearances has been appointed into his first managerial position north of the border.

The pathway towards a post-playing career in football management can be complicated and highly competitive, and there are few guarantees of success. But experience on the pitch can go a long way towards helping to get a former player onto that particular career ladder.

And in the case of one former Premier League and Championship star who ran up over 90 international appearances for his country, a playing career which saw him make 683 appearances for a variety of clubs across the Premier League and all three divisions of the EFL, including Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa, has been rewarded with his first full-time managerial position, three years after the end of his playing career.

Glenn Whelan has been appointed as the manager of Livingston in Scotland

Following a player career in the English game that lasted for two full decades, former Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Glenn Whelan has won his first managerial appointment north of the border with Livingston.

Whelan, who made 683 appearances for eight clubs in England and Scotland, has been appointed as the manager of the Scottish club, who were relegated at the end of 2025-26 from the Scottish Premiership.

Whelan retired from playing in 2023, following a career which took in spells with Manchester City, Bury, Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Hearts, Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers. He also made 91 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team, and also played for them at under-16 and under-21 levels.

He has picked up coaching experience at Bristol Rovers and Wigan, including two spells as the interim manager at Wigan, but this will be the first full-time position for the 42-year-old. Reacting to his appointment, Whelan stated: "Absolutely over the moon to be joining

@LiviFCOfficial as Head Coach.. a chance I will grab with both hands. Hard work has started already".

Whelan has a job on his hands at Livingston, but he has the know-how from a lengthy playing career

Glenn Whelan will certainly have his work cut out in his first full-time managerial position. He will be tasked with getting Livingston back into the Scottish Premiership at the first attempt, but this will come following a calamitous 2025-26 season for the West Lothian club.

Livingston ended last season 13 points adrift at the foot of the Scottish Premiership table, having collected just two wins from their 38 matches. He will succeed Marvin Bartley, who resigned in May after he and assistant Neil Hastings were asked to reapply for their positions following relegation.

Whelan's first club coaching position came at Bristol Rovers, the last club he represented as a player, but he left The Memorial Ground at the end of 2023 following the arrival of Matt Taylor as their manager. Having joined the coaching staff at Wigan, he also had two spells as their interim manager following the removal of Shaun Maloney and Ryan Lowe, but left the club in February 2026.

He'd also worked within the coaching system for the Republic of Ireland national team, where he'd coached with the under-16s and the senior team, when they were under the temporary control of John O'Shea in 2024.

While Whelan's coaching experience is limited, though, he has plenty of it to fall back upon as a player. Having started his senior career at Manchester City in 2003, he made his major breakthrough at Sheffield Wednesday, where he made 159 appearances for them between 2004 and 2008.

It was at his next club Stoke City, however, that he would make his name. Having signed for them for £500,000 in January 2008, he would go on to make 337 appearances for the Potters over the next nine years. He was part of their team which was promoted to the Premier League in 2008, and in their team which narrowly lost the 2011 FA Cup final to Manchester City.

He left Stoke for Aston Villa in 2017, and was part of their team which returned to the Premier League two years later, and after signing for Bristol Rovers in 2021, he was part of their team which secured promotion from League Two the following year.

Football management is a difficult career, and there are no guarantees that any former player will be successful in any position. And turning round Livingston after such a poor season in the Scottish Premiership will be a challenge, especially for somebody in their first permanent managerial position.

But experience as a player can count for a lot, and that is certainly one area in which Glenn Whelan is not lacking. And if he can make a success of his time in Scotland, the possibility of a return to England certainly can't be ruled out in the future.