John McDermott (English footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John McDermott | ||
| Date of birth | 3 February 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Right Back | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Harrogate Town (assistant manager) |
||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–2007 | Grimsby Town | 647 | (10) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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John McDermott (born 3 February 1969 in Middlesbrough) is an English former professional footballer and assistant manager of Conference North side Harrogate Town.
As a player he was a right-back from 1987 to 2007, spending his entire 20-year playing career at Grimsby Town, and holds the club's all-time appearance record, having played 647 league games, 754 games overall for the Mariners. He is one of only 17 players in the history of English football to play more than 600 Football League matches for a single club.
Upon retirement McDermott moved into coaching at the Grimsby Institute, and after failing in bids to become manager of Boston United and Grimsby Town he was appointed assistant manager at Harrogate Town in 2010.
He was released at apprentice level. However, when the apprenticeship scheme was revamped he was re-signed as a trainee at Grimsby Town and after 13 appearances in the Second Division he signed professional terms. At the start of McDermott's career he was a utility player but then established himself as a regular right-back for the Mariners.
Over the decades he was seen by many as a consistent performer as he won Grimsby Town 'Player of the Year' a record three times. In 1994 McDermott suffered an injury and was injured for nine months. He regained his place in the team in 1996 and was quickly becoming one of the most respected defenders outside the Premier League and was linked with moves to Sunderland AFC and Ipswich Town but did not leave his beloved Grimsby Town. One of his famous quotes on the situation of present-day footballers is:
"If someone would rather sit in the reserves at a big club and drive around in a Ferrari rather than going out on-loan and playing, then I think it's a sad day."
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