First Team
EVERY WORD | JACK WALTON LOOKS AHEAD TO IBROX TEST
21st November 2024
As we continue our United for 100 Years celebrations, we’re asking supporters to vote for their ultimate UTD100 starting XI - 1994 Scottish Cup winner Jim McInally steps into central midfield!
VOTE FOR THE HEROES YOU'D LIKE TO SEE US INCLUDE ON OUR X FEED!
A product of Celtic Boys Club, McInally turned professional with Celtic in October 1980. Initially beginning his career as an industrious left-back, he made just three appearances for the club before a loan to Dundee in January 1984. He subsequently joined Nottingham Forest three months later, amassing over 40 appearances for the midlands outfit.
After a further spell with Coventry City, both McInally and Sky Blues teammate Dave Bowman joined the Terrors in a £140,000 deal funded by the departures of Billy Kirkwood and Stuart Beedie to Hibernian.
Now playing as a defensive midfielder, became a key cog in the Tannadice wheel.The year of his arrival, the Glasgow native would aid United's charge to the UEFA Cup Final, appearing in every round and finding the back of the net against Hajduk Split.
After collecting three Scottish Cup runner's-up medals, McInally and his teammates would finally clear the final hurdle in 1994. The 30-year-old netted a close-range winner against Aberdeen in the Last Four to send United into the Final, and played 90 minutes against Rangers as the Terrors raised the trophy aloft for the first time in their history.
McInally departed for Kirkcaldy at the culmination of the 1994/95 season, enjoying a brief spell with Raith Rovers before returning to United for a further one-season stint to aid the club’s push for a third-place finish in 1996/97.
As his career on the pitch wound down, he crossed the street to join Dundee as a player/coach, retiring just 12 months after making the switch to Dens. Turning out 395 times in tangerine, McInally sits 15th in the club's all-time appearance list and was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2015.
He delved into management after hanging up his boots, overseeing Sligo Rovers in 1999 and later joining Celtic's coaching staff. In 2004, McInally pitched up at Greenock Morton and steered them to promotion in 2006-07. Up until his resignation in November 2022, he was the SPFL’s longest-serving manager, following eleven years at the helm with Peterhead.
