Fraser, Marcus

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Fullname: Marcus Fraser
aka: –
Born: 23 June 1994
Birthplace: Bishopbriggs, Scotland
Signed: 1 August 2011 (full)
Left: 19 January 2015 (free, to Ross County)
Position: Defender, Centre-half
Debut: Celtic 3-1 Rennes, UEFA Cup, 3 Nov 2011
Squad No.: 44
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: ? [complete at end of career]
International Goals: ? [complete at end of career]

Biog

A product of the youth scheme, Marcus Fraser came on unplanned at half-time in a UEFA Cup match v Rennes to play alongside the unpredictable Danny M at centre-half after Glenn Loovens went off injured.

Despite his youth (just 17) Marcus gave a great performance which warmed the hearts of the support many of whom were concerned if he could handle it. A good start with the tackles which bedded him in, he settled in very fine as Celtic won 3-1. Admittedly, the opposition were overall poor but they were quick & tricky and Marcus put in a fine performance to give all confidence in his future at the club in the first team.

As the manager later said of his appearance: “He was only 17 when he was thrown in against Rennes but he coped with the occasion very well. He was flying.”

He made his first start for Celtic in an SPL match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 9th February 2013 in a 3-1 win. Things looked onwards and upwards for Marcus.

Yet it all then ground to a halt to the surprise of many. A career-threatening cruciate injury in 2013 lost him almost a season worth of experience, but he returned for the first team to feature in the final of the Turkish Airlines Antalya Cup against Galatasaray (a winter warm-up friendly competition). He had required surgery, but the management was supportive which showed their confidence in him.

He wasn’t sadly to be given any further first team matches, although he was winning caps up the ranks for the Scotland national junior sides from u16s-u21s. Some were feeling he wasn’t being given fair enough number of chances for the first team, but the long-term injury he suffered was likely to have curtailed his development as happens so often to young players.

In 2013/14, Celtic recorded new club records in defence with Forster in goals aided by a great central pairing of Van Dijk with Ambrose. The central defence was functioning far less well the next season, but the addition of Denayer didn’t help Fraser’s chances. The preference for using full-backs like Lustig instead as centre-halves when needed made things more difficult too. Possibly, a shot at right-back was a possibility, but Darnell Fisher was preferred as the junior back-up to the mainstays in the first team.

After his fine appearance against Rennes, it felt harsh that he was not to be given a run in the first team. Lennon wasn’t always the best manager for giving youth a chance, although there is evidence to allow others to argue otherwise. Lennon did rate Fraser and possibly had marked him as one for the future. We can only now theorise if given more first team chances if he’d have actually have cemented himself a first team place.

He was released on a free in January 2015, by new manager Ronny Deila, to sign for Ross County. We wished Marcus Fraser all the best.

Marcus Fraser became a long-term regular and later captain for Ross County, staying with the club even after relegation and helping them back to the top tier. With Ross County, he helped them to the League Cup, the second tier (Scottish Championship) title and the Scottish Challenge Cup. He even made the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for 2018-19.

In 2020, during the pandemic era, he moved to St Mirren, gaining a reputation for being an unforgiving defender in the tackles, such as in the shock 2-0 win over Celtic in the league in September 2022.

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

• 2012-13

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Articles

Academy Bhoy Marcus shines on the European stage

By: Paul Cuddihy on 04 Nov, 2011 10:28
CelticFC.net

JUST when Neil Lennon thought his injury woes couldn’t get any worse, he had to contend with losing Glenn Loovens at half-time in the Europa League game against Rennes at Celtic Park.

And stepping into the spotlight was 17-year-old Marcus Fraser. The young Celtic Youth Academy graduate played the second 45 alongside Daniel Majstorovic and didn’t put a foot wrong as the Hoops ran out well-deserved 3-1 winners against the French side.

It was the perfect competitive debut for the young Celt, whose only previous first-team experience had been playing the friendly match against Athletic Bilbao last season.

And he was delighted at having played and won in front of his fellow Celtic fans.

“I’m really pleased with how things went, and I really hope I can now build on this,” Fraser said after the game. “I’m a 17-year-old and I just want to play for Celtic.

“I got the chance to play against Athletic Bilbao last season while there were internationals on and I enjoyed it. It was a really good experience to be involved in.

“But this was even better, playing at home with far more Celtic supporters, and everyone stuck behind us, even after we went behind so early.”

The call to action came after Loovens was forced to come off at the break. The Dutchman had only just returned to the side, and with Charlie Mulgrew out injured and Thomas Rogne not able to play in the competition, Neil Lennon had a number of youthful options to call upon.

“I never even got time to feel nervous,” explained Fraser. “I was out warming up and I knew Glenn Loovens had a problem with his hamstring.

“The sports scientist called me in and the manager just told me to go out and do what I do at Under-19 level.

“Big Daniel Majstorovic helped me a lot, winning all the headers and getting blocks in. Beram Kayal and Victor Wanyama were just shutting down everything, and the full-backs, too, were shutting down things.

“If I get another call at the weekend for the Motherwell game, then I need to do what I did tonight.

“But everyone helped me. As a young player you want to take all the chances that come.”

And manager Neil Lennon was delighted with the result and performance of his team, including an impressive competitive debut for his teenage defender.

Speaking after the game, the Celtic manager said: “Losing Glenn Loovens at half-time was a blow, but young Marcus Fraser came in and did brilliantly.

“I didn’t want to change the shape of the team and take Wanyama out of the midfield as he was doing so well.

“I brought Stevie Frail down to the dressing-room at half-time and asked him what he thought. We had young Joe Chalmers there as well, but Stevie felt Marcus would handle the occasion better.

“We played him in Bilbao last year in front of 40,000 and he had a great game. For him to play so well is a credit to him and to our Academy for the players they are producing.”

Celtic’s Under-19s are in European action this Monday, November 7 when they take on Manchester City in the prestigious NextGen Series.

The match at Celtic Park kicks off at 7.45pm and you can get along to cheer on the young Bhoys as they look to beat the English side for a second time, having won 4-2 in the previous encounter.

Fraser: Moving in the right direction

Celticfc.net
By: Kenny McKay on 16 Jan, 2014 08:43
COMEBACK kid Marcus Fraser says he is determined to spend as much of 2014 on the pitch as possible after bouncing back in style from a year on the sidelines.

The 19-year-old completed his recovery from a career-threatening cruciate injury by featuring for the Bhoys in the final of the Turkish Airlines Antalya Cup against Galatasaray.

Having lined up against established internationalists such as Wesley Sneijder, Emanuel Eboue and Albert Riera, Fraser’s return to action was somewhat of a sink or swim moment for the defender – much like his debut for the top team against Rennes in the Europa League in 2011.

And now, while he reaches the end of the road to recovery, Fraser explained that his goal is to keep getting minutes under his belt and push his way into Neil Lennon’s plans.

He said: “It was around 60 minutes that I had on the pitch, which was ideal after my long spell out but I really enjoyed every minute of it. I did okay, so hopefully I can kick on now and get a few more games under my belt.

“I was always going to expect it after a long time out that I was going to have to start at least one game, whether it came then or next week or in the future, so in many ways it was good to get it out of the way.

“I suppose it was a bit like my debut against Rennes. Someone said that to me the other day actually and I suppose it was similar because I didn’t get any time to get uptight about it or prepare for it so you just have to go out on to the park and play, so maybe that’s the best thing to do.

“I remember we got to half time then five minutes later I was told that I’d be coming on and that was it. I just had to play 45 minutes but it was a great experience.

“In the next week weeks, next couple of months I’m hoping to play as many games as I can. Whether it’s with the 20s or other games, I just want to keep playing and ticking over and hopefully after that I can see where I’ll go from there.”

As one of the nine Celtic Academy players that featured against Galatasaray, Fraser believes the mid-winter break to Turkey has revitalised his season as the younger players were given the chance to stake a claim for a regular starting berth.

And while he faces some stiff competition from both Virgil van Dijk and Efe Ambrose, Fraser has nothing but praise for the in-form duo.

He said: “It was really good to get away, it was a good week for me. It was my first trip away with all the Bhoys and I think I benefited from it a lot. It did me a world of good and to get some game time too.

“After my injury, I really wanted to play a game as soon as possible and thankfully I got that opportunity against Galatasaray.

“Looking at both Efe and Virgil, I can definitely learn from them both. They are two top defenders and they stood out in the Champions League so credit to the both of them and I hope they continue doing well.”