Jim Magilton

He made 33 appearances in the league during the season, helping Ipswich to a 5th placed finish in the Premier League and qualification for the UEFA Cup the following season.

Magilton helped Ipswich push for promotion throughout the season, scoring 4 goals in 38 appearances in the league as Ipswich finished 3rd in the First Division.

James Magilton (born 6 May 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional football player and current manager of NIFL Premiership side Cliftonville.

As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town.

He started his playing career in the Irish League with Distillery then signed for Liverpool but would fail to make an appearance.

Magilton started his playing career with Distillery in the Irish League, making his senior debut as a substitute against Newry Town in March 1985, aged just 15.

Magilton served as an apprentice at Liverpool alongside the likes of Steve McManaman and Mike Marsh.

He turned professional in 1988 but never made a first team appearance, although he was selected as a (non-playing) substitute in both the 1988 and 1990 Charity Shields.

In 1988 Liverpool beat Wimbledon and then two years later shared it with Manchester United in a 1–1 draw, both at Wembley Stadium.

He joined Oxford United in 1990 before moving to the Saints four-years later.

He made 581 league appearances, scoring 64 goals during his playing career.

He was capped 52 times by Northern Ireland, scoring 5 goals and has recently appeared at U21 and U23 level.

He moved into management at Ipswich, where he led the club for three years before managing Queens Park Rangers for a brief spell.

He has since managed Melbourne Victory, Northern Ireland U21 and Dundalk.

Magilton was born in Belfast and attended St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School.

Magilton was transferred to Oxford United in October 1990 at the age of 21 for £200,000.

There he made 150 League appearances before moving to Southampton in February 1994.

Magilton was Alan Ball's second signing a month after being appointed as Southampton's manager, costing the Saints £600,000.

Magilton made his first Saints appearance in a 4–2 victory at The Dell over Liverpool on 14 February 1994 in which match Matthew Le Tissier scored a hat-trick.

Magilton soon established himself as a commanding presence in the central midfield role.

Magilton was described in Holley & Chalk's In That Number as "a neat and indefatigable "fetcher and carrier" between penalty areas."

In the 1994–95 season Magilton started all 42 league games (scoring 6 goals) and continued to feature regularly in the following two seasons under managers David Merrington and Graeme Souness.

Following Dave Jones' appointment in the summer of 1997, Magilton rejected the offer of a new contract and, after making 156 appearances with Southampton.

In September 1997 Magilton moved to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £1.6 million.

He made his debut on 13 September away to his former club Liverpool.

He made 22 appearances during his first season at Sheffield Wednesday, scoring once in a 1–1 draw with West Ham in April 1998.

He began the 1998–99 season with Wednesday, although he did not feature regularly for the first team, making only 6 appearances during the first-half of the season.

In January 1999, Magilton signed for Ipswich Town on loan for the remainder of the season.

He made his debut for Ipswich on 17 January in a 2–1 away loss to Sunderland.

He scored his first goal for the club on 13 March 1999, in a 3–0 home victory over Huddersfield Town at Portman Road.

In March 1999 he signed permanently for Ipswich for a fee of around £750,000.

He started the 1999–2000 season as a regular in the Ipswich first-team.

He scored his first goal of the season on 30 August, netting in a 6–1 win over Barnsley.

He scored his only career hat-trick in a 5–3 victory against Bolton Wanderers in the 1999–2000 play-off semi-finals on 17 May, securing the club's place in the play-off final with a 7–5 aggregate win, and admitting himself that it was his best ever performance.

Magilton started in the final at Wembley Stadium as Ipswich beat Barnsley 4–2, earning promotion to the Premier League as a result.

Magilton continued to be a key part of the Ipswich side during the following season.

He scored his first Premier League goal for Ipswich in a 2-1 away defeat to Leicester City on 6 September.

Magilton started out at junior club St Oliver Plunkett, under the guidance of Jackie Maxwell, whose long-term association with the club saw him win the BBC NI Unsung Hero award in 2006.

Magilton was a gifted midfield player with an exquisite range of passing who represented Northern Ireland 52 times.

He played for Distillery, Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, and Southampton before ending his playing career after seven-and-a-half years at Ipswich.