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Note: There has been more than one player with the same name to have played for Celtic. So please check the other namesakes if need be.
Personal
Fullname: Jackie McNamara
aka: Jackie McNamara Jr
Born: 24 Oct 1973
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 3 Oct 1995
Left: 14 June 2005
Position: Full-back/Right-back
Debut: Falkirk a 4 October 1995, League
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 33
International Goals: 0
Biog
| “The thing about Jackie is that he is single-minded and if you want to make it at football, you have to be that way.” Jackie McNamara Sr on his son Jackie McNamara Jr |
Jackie McNamara spent 10 mostly successful years with Celtic after signing from Dunfermline in 1995, but it definitely wasn’t easy. He’d arrived in the midst of Celtic’s difficult transition period following the Celtic Takeover where Celtic were desperate to regain their confidence & win respect.
The son of former Celt Jackie McNamara Snr, Jackie McNamara Jr settled in quickly at Celtic Park and the full-back’s desire to attack rapidly made him a popular figure among the Hoops support.
An excellent crosser of the ball, McNamara’s storming runs down the right flank and his link up play with winger Simon Donnelly became a potent weapon in Celtic’s attack. As the player established himself as one of the most promising full backs in Britain. An intelligent footballer with good vision, pace and stamina, the former Par quickly became a stand-out performer for the Hoops.
First year and a half was a difficult time under Tommy Burns as manager, Celtic desperately tried to leapfrog Rangers to win the title but to no avail and no deserved silverware to show for it. Attention was often on the more expensive foreign imports, but Jackie McNamara was quietly effective and making a name for himself.
After impressing under the management of Tommy Burns, McNamara continued to shine under new boss Wim Jansen who moved Jackie McNamara into midfield where he was an integral member of the side that in season 1997/98 claimed the League Cup and stopped Rangers making it 10-in-a-row by clinching the Hoops’ first championship in a decade.
There were many Celtic heroes that season but it says everything about McNamara’s contribution to the campaign that he was voted Player’s Player of the Year by his fellow professionals.
However, one of the biggest contributions some say he made in that season was when he “punched” Rangers striker Mark Hateley in the face during a 1-0 defeat. It’s not actually true though, the picture is very misleading, and if you watch the video you see very differently, there was no punch thrown just silly pushes & shoves.
Following the departure of Jansen after just one season Celtic toiled under the guidance of Jo Venglos and then John Barnes. But McNamara remained one of the Bhoys better and most consistent performers.
The arrival of Martin O’Neill and a new tactical system slowly saw Jackie McNamara – now an established Scotland international – become more of a squad player than a first team regular. Jackie McNamara had for most of his career been a full back and now found himself in a team that no longer used fullbacks, but when called upon McNamara would always produce steady and effective performances.
In season 2002/03, which was a double edged season for the memories that saw Celtic reach the UEFA Cup final but still walk away with no silverware, Jackie McNamara was a regularly used player through the ‘Road to Seville’, and even got to play in the key matches v Stuttgart, Liverpool and Porto (the final).
Now mostly used from the bench McNamara’s future as a Celt looked in doubt as he was at a stage of his career where a regular starting spot was a must. He however remained at Celtic Park and was an effective squad player for O’Neill. While his performances may have lacked the spark and energy of his early days as a Celt, even as a sub he still had the ability to influence a game.
McNamara’s patience was finally rewarded in season 2003/04 when he re-established himself as a key member of the first team. Injuries to the likes of Johan Mjallby and Joos Valgaeren gave Jackie McNamara the opportunity to prove he still had a future in the Hoops.
It was an opportunity the player grasped convincingly. McNamara’s intelligent use of the ball and ability to read the game meant he could play in a variety of positions and O’Neill used this to his advantage during the League and Cup Double winning campaign starting McNamara in virtually every defensive and midfield position.
The lung-bursting runs down the flank which were once so prominent were now fewer but McNamara had developed into a mature and assured player, as comfortable in midfield as defence.
After agreeing a one-year extension to his Celtic contract in April an amazing renaissance was crowned in May 2004 when he was voted Football Writers Player of the season, which must be noted in light of that this was in an incredible season and he was heralded for this award ahead of Sutton & Larsson. Things continued to get better for Jackie McNamara as O’Neill then appointed him club captain for the following season – his testimonial year.
But then matters took a turn for the worse. Celtic threw away the league championship on the last day of the season in 2004/05 and although McNamara lifted the Scottish Cup the imminent departure of O’Neill meant a rather bleak end to the campaign.
McNamara’s testimonial against the Republic of Ireland was staged the day after the cup final and although the afternoon gave the support the chance to bid farewell to O’Neill they didn’t realise it was going to be Jackie McNamara’s farewell too.
The player’s contract was due to expire that summer but after new boss Gordon Strachan expressed his desire to ensure McNamara remained a Celt it seemed only a matter of time before a new deal was agreed. However on 14th June 2005 McNamara made in what some say was a surprise switch to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Celtic at first had not wanted to keep him or had made him a poor offer, but then made the player an improved two-year deal. McNamara though was said to be unhappy at the time it took the club to offer him the contract, and having already given his word to Wolves, McNamara turned down the offer and headed to the Midlands.
It was a disappointing way to end to a great Celtic career and some Hoops fans were unhappy at McNamara’s departure so soon after he had gained a cheque from his testimonial. There is no doubt it all could have been handled much better in the pubic light than they did, but it would be wrong to let one incident cloud the Celtic career of someone who contributed much to the revival of Celtic.
Injuries meant that McNamara’s Wolves career endured a poor start and it is fair to say with hindsight that McNamara’s departure from Parkhead is a move the player will possibly regret.
In time, in retrospectives, many have ranked him as the finest full-backs the club had over a 30-40 year period (post-Danny McGrain). Not until Kieran Tierney hit the limelight in the late 2010’s, could anyone rate anyone else higher, which is further evidence of the admiration for Jackie McNamara’s talent.
We respect him for his time at the club, and we wished him all the best.
Post-Celtic
After Celtic he spent time at Wolves, Aberdeen, Falkirk and Partick Thistle. Hanging up his boots in 2011 with 33 Scottish caps to boot. He later moved into coaching and management, including spells at Partick Thistle, Dundee Utd & York City. At Dudee Utd he helped them to the finals of the Scottish Cup & Scottish League Cup in successive seasons, but lost both. The latter was a defeat to Celtic in the league cup final.
He also wrote a sitcom comedy pilot script called The Therapy Room which starred his brother Donny McNamara, all based around a young footballer who makes it to the big time. You can read into it what parallels there are to Jackie McNamara’s career.
With respect to Celtic, bridges were easily mended and water passed under the bridge, and he was a regular & respected regular on Scottish media, and a guest player in many charity related football events with Celtic.
In February 2020, at just 46 years of age he collapsed near his home in York and was rushed to hospital to intensive care with bleeding to the brain, but thankfully survived and recovered from the scare.
[….]
Quotes
“When Celtic wanted him, I was really impressed with Tommy Burns’ honesty and he has proved that since. The thing about Jackie is that he is single-minded and if you want to make it at football, you have to be that way.”
McNamara, Sr, was a fair player himself, better than he claims, and here is an illustration of his own honesty. When I asked him if young Jackie was a better player than his dad, he replied: “He was better than dad when he was nine.”
Jackie McNamara Sr on his son Jackie McNamara Jr
“That was actually in pre-season in Norway. But we went to Portugal on the winter break as well. And that was when we first started working with him. We were sitting there, Tommy [Johnson], Craig [Burley] and [Alan] Stubbsy were all in Norway and in a wee coffee shop. Tommy Johnson was sitting with a cup of Coca Cola and John, the manager, took a drink of it to see if it was alcohol, which it wasn’t, but he kind of lost them straight away from pre-season.”
Jackie McNamara revealed an incident between the ex-Hoops boss and key first-team players pre-season which demonstrated John Barnes got off on wrong foot with all (2023)
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League | Scottish/FA Cup | League cup | Other | ||||
| Falkirk | 14/05/2008 | Free | 29 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | |
| Aberdeen | 25/07/2007 | 14/05/2008 | Free | 12 (5) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 |
| Wolves | 14/06/2005 | 25/07/2007 | Free | 28 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 |
| Celtic | 03/10/1995 | 14/06/2005 | £600,000 | 220 (35) | 10 | 25 (5) | 3 | 17 (2) | 1 | 37 (6) | 1 |
| Dunfermline | 17/09/1991 | 03/10/1995 | Signed | 59 (0) | 3 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 1 |
| Gairdoch United | 01/08/1990 | 17/09/1991 | No appearance data available | ||||||||
| Totals | £600,000 | 348 (41) | 13 | 34 (5) | 3 | 25 (3) | 1 | 45 (6) | 2 | ||
| goals / game | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.03 | |||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Pictures
Books
Ex-Scotland star Jackie McNamara unveils X-rated sitcom.. which could have old team mates hiding behind the sofa
The Daily Record
Nov 11 2011 Exclusive by Jack Mathieson
CELTIC legend Jackie McNamara last night revealed a new talent – as author of an X-rated sitcom.
The Therapy Room, co-written by the former Scotland star, had its first public screening and shocked viewers with raunchy sex scenes and a script peppered with four-letter words.
McNamara, 38, now boss of Partick Thistle, warned invited guests at an Edinburgh cinema some parts of the football-themed show were “close to the bone”.
But viewers were still not prepared for some of the scenes, including one in which the main character has sex with a girl he picked up in a bar while his team-mates watch from cupboards.
One viewer said: “I wasn’t expecting that. It made Footballers’ Wives look like The Magic Roundabout.”
Wives look like The ” In The Therapy Room, McNamara taps into his years of experience in football club dressing rooms.
The storyline sees an English Premiership club have a “therapy room” installed, in which players can get things off their chests in front of a camera in the style of reality TV shows.
And it is likely that many of McNamara’s former team-mates – some of whose exploits are said to feature in the script – will be left wincing.
Last night’s 39-minute pilot, which the makers will use to try to attract interest from major broadcasters, also drew howls of laughter with its potshots at man-hungry wannabe WAGs, bolshy sportswriters and inarticulate football coaches.
McNamara said: “I am really happy with it.
“These are guys aged 18 to 35 in a dressing room, and we were trying to make it realistic as far as the banter and the relationships go. I hope it goes down well.”
McNamara worked on the script with actor Francis Gilhooley, who plays the club chairman.
The show stars Jackie’s younger brother Donny as Peter Tully, a promising player catapulted into the big time, alongside Billy Elliot, Orphans and Gangs Of New York actor Gary Lewis, who plays his manager.
