Micky Mellon

Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Oldham Athletic.

As a player, he was a midfielder for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackpool, Tranmere and Burnley.

Mellon began his career in 1989 as a 17-year-old with Bristol City gaining promotion to the old Second Division, then managed by Joe Jordan.

In 1991, he was loaned out for two months to League of Ireland club Cork City, making his League of Ireland debut on 20 October 1991.

He made eleven league appearances for Cork, scoring three goals.

He spent four years at Ashton Gate, before joining Midlanders West Bromwich Albion in 1993 for a fee of £75,000.

He played 45 league games for West Brom, scoring six goals in their promotion season ending in a play off victory over Port Vale at Wembley.

It was his move to Blackpool for a fee of £50,000 in 1994, however, that saw Mellon establish himself as a regular on the team and scoresheet.

Under Sam Allardyce's guidance, Mellon made 138 appearances and scored 17 goals in all competitions.

He was voted the club's Player of the year in the 1995–96 season as the club just missed out on promotion from Division Two.

The season following Allardyce's sacking in 1997, Mellon moved up a division to join Tranmere Rovers, who were then playing in Division One, for a fee of £300,000.

He spent two seasons at Prenton Park, followed by another two with Burnley, whom he joined for £350,000 gaining promotion finishing second to Preston North End.

He returned to Tranmere Rovers in March 2001 initially on loan, and then on a free transfer.

He was released in May 2004.

Mellon joined Kidderminster Harriers in August 2004, signing a two-year contract.

After leaving Harriers, Mellon spent a short spell at Witton Albion in 2005 before joining Lancaster City.

Mellon was appointed as assistant manager of Lancaster City in June 2006.

However, on 10 October after an FA Cup defeat to Scarborough he left the club along with four players for financial reasons.

He moved to his former club Burnley as a youth team coach, coaching the Under-15 and Under-16 teams.

Chairman Andy Pilley appointed the Burnley youth team coach and former Blackpool midfielder Micky Mellon as manager on 23 September, succeeding Tony Greenwood.

Mellon initially divided his time between coaching the Under-15 and Under-16 teams at Burnley and managing Fleetwood.

However, on 12 January 2009, his position was made full-time, a first in the history of the club.

Mellon led Fleetwood to a successful FA Cup run, reaching the second round for the first time in their history.

He introduced a number of new faces to the playing staff, and over the course of the season produced a settled team with increasingly improving league results.

Fleetwood finished the season in a creditable eighth place, having been bottom of the league when he was appointed.

From the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Fleetwood were seen as serious promotion contenders.

By the end of 2009, Southport and Fleetwood had established themselves as the two strongest teams in the league.

A 5–0 defeat to Southport on Boxing Day at Haig Avenue appeared to have tipped the balance Southport's way, but this was followed by a 4–0 Fleetwood victory in the return fixture at Highbury on New Year's Day.

The demise of Farsley Celtic late in the season led their entire 2009–10 playing record being expunged, thereby costing Fleetwood three points relative to Southport.

Fleetwood appealed against the decision but the appeal was rejected the day before the last match of the season, leaving Southport one point ahead.

A final day 2–0 victory over Stalybridge Celtic proved ultimately inadequate in securing the championship as Southport defeated Eastwood Town 3–0 away from home to win the championship, and the automatic promotion place, by one point.

A two-legged playoff semi-final against Droylsden away was decided on penalties, as a 2–0 defeat, countered by a 3–1 victory at Highbury.

Goalkeeper Danny Hurst saved the last penalty to put Fleetwood through 4–3.

The final was played against Alfreton Town at Highbury on 9 May, in front of a new record capacity crowd of 3,592.

Mellon began his managerial career with Fleetwood Town, where he took the club into the Football League for the first time in their history by winning the 2011–12 Football Conference title.

He has overseen five promotions in total as a manager with Fleetwood, Shrewsbury Town and Tranmere.

After a year with Scottish Premiership club Dundee United, Mellon returned to Tranmere in June 2021 but was dismissed in March 2023.

In October 2023, he was appointed as Oldham Athletic manager.

Micky Mellon was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire.

His family moved to Glasgow when he was nine months old, and he grew up in the South Nitshill area.