Anton McElhone Returns to his Roots at Queen's Park
- McElhone, new Head of Academy Coaching, is back at his first club after 20 years
- The experienced UEFA A Licence holder will help plot the club’s future development
Anton McElhone has spent two decades honing his coaching skills alongside some of the world’s top managers and players.
Now he’s back where it all began after being appointed Head of Academy Coaching at ambitious Scottish Championship club Queen’s Park.
As a key member of the backroom team at Celtic, Spurs, New England Revolution, and Hibs, McElhone has overseen the development of a host of leading international stars, including England hero Harry Kane.
But his football journey started as a youth coach at Queen’s Park – and now he has returned to his roots to help the Glasgow club plot the next chapter of their development.
Football Careers client Anton will work alongside new Academy Director Tommy McIntyre and manager Callum Davidson in shaping the future direction of the club’s rapidly expanding Academy. He said:
“I see this as a fantastic opportunity and I’m delighted to be back at Queen’s Park. This is my local club – in fact, I can see the stadium from the top of the street where I live – so I’m excited to be working here again.
“I was a youth player at Queen’s Park in the late 1990s and Tommy Wilson brought me back to the club in 2003 as an Academy coach. That was my first coaching role and it’s been a long journey since then.
“The Academy here has always had a great tradition and in recent years it has developed as the club has become full-time. It’s been phenomenal to see the number of youth players progressing into the first team and our aim is to continue producing that conveyer belt of talent and keep developing coaches and players.”
After leaving Queen’s Park the first time around, McElhone switched to a coaching role at Hibernian under John Collins before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007. He spent 10 years at White Hart Lane under a string of respected and high-profile managers, including Mauricio Pochettino, Harry Redknapp, and André Villas-Boas.
The 42-year-old said: “At Spurs, I was lucky to work with a lot of top people, great managers and great players. I worked with Harry Kane for several years in the youth system and watched him progress from a 15-year-old kid to an international superstar.
“From there I went to the States as part of Brad Friedel’s coaching staff at New England Revolution and then returned to the UK in 2018 to work as assistant manager to David Hopkin at Bradford City then Greenock Morton.
“I was then recruited by Ange Postecoglou as Head of Sports Science at Celtic and was fortunate to have two fantastic and successful seasons there.
“All in all, I’ve spent more than 20 years in player development and I’ll try and bring all the things I have learned in that time to this role.”
Queen’s Academy Director McIntyre said:
“Bringing Anton on board is quite a coup for Queen’s Park. He has vast experience in the philosophy, methodology, periodisation, and player development processes, having worked with some of the best players in the world. He will add a lot of value to the Queen’s Park Academy.”
