Luke McCullough

Luke McCullough
Personal information
Full name Luke McCullough[1]
Date of birth (1994-02-15) 15 February 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Portadown, Northern Ireland[1]
Position(s) Centre-back/Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Carrick Rangers
Youth career
Loughgall Youth
000?–2010 Dungannon Swifts
2010–2012 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Manchester United 0 (0)
2013 → Cheltenham Town (loan) 1 (0)
2013–2019 Doncaster Rovers 99 (0)
2018–2019 → Tranmere Rovers (loan) 36 (0)
2020 Tranmere Rovers 6 (0)
2020–2024 Glentoran 98 (3)
2024- Carrick Rangers 0 (0)
International career‡
Northern Ireland U16 5 (0)
Northern Ireland U17 10 (1)
2012 Northern Ireland U19 1 (0)
Northern Ireland U20 2 (1)
2013–2015 Northern Ireland U21 8 (0)
2014–2018 Northern Ireland 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:26, 8 May 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:48, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Luke McCullough (born 15 February 1994) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Carrick Rangers in the NIFL Premiership.

Club career

McCullough started his career with his local team, Loughgall Youth, before joining Dungannon Swifts where he played in the first team in the IFA Premiership at the age of 15.[2]

Manchester United

He moved to England to play for Manchester United in July 2010.[3] He captained the academy side throughout the 2011–12 campaign, making 25 appearances.[3] On 25 January 2013, he joined Football League Two side Cheltenham Town on a one-month loan deal.[4] He made his league debut on 16 February 2013, in a 1–1 draw with Aldershot Town, coming on as a substitute for Steve Elliott.[5]

Doncaster Rovers

After spending time on trial during pre-season, McCullough signed a two-year deal with Doncaster Rovers on 25 July 2013. He made his debut for Doncaster when he started in Rovers' 3–1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship on 2 November 2013.[2]

On 23 July 2016, McCullough signed a new three-year contract.[6] However, less than a month later, on 2 August 2016, it was announced that McCullough would miss the entire season with a cruciate ligament injury.[7]

He was released by Doncaster at the end of the 2018–19 season after spending much of it on loan at Tranmere Rovers.[8]

Tranmere Rovers

McCullough re-signed for Tranmere on no-contract terms on 6 January 2020.[9] The deal was made permanent 24 days later.[10]

Glentoran

McCullough returned to his native Northern Ireland on 1 August 2020, by signing for East Belfast side, Glentoran.[11] On 7 May 2024, it was announced that McCullough would be one of ten players departing Glentoran upon the expiry of their contracts. [12]

International career

McCullough first represented Northern Ireland at under-16 level where he became captain. He was also captain of the under-17s.[13] Although named in the squad twice before, his first appearance for the under-19s was a start in the 8–1 victory away to Moldova on 15 October 2012. Although he didn't score in that game, he was credited with two assists.[14]

On the same day he signed a contract with Doncaster Rovers, he also received a call-up to play for the under-21 squad in the Milk Cup.[15]

McCullough senior debut came in a friendly loss against Uruguay. McCullough has since become a regular feature of the Northern Irish squad, going to Euro 2016. He did not make an appearance at the tournament.[16]

Personal life

McCullough is a Rangers fan.[13] His father, Dean McCullough, was also a footballer who played for Glenavon and Portadown.

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 January 2020[17]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2012–13 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2012–13 League Two 1 0 – – – 0 0 1 0
Doncaster Rovers 2013–14 Championship 14 0 1 0 0 0 – 0 0 15 0
2014–15 League One 33 0 4 1 3 0 – 1[a] 0 41 1
2015–16 32 0 1 0 2 0 – 0 0 35 0
2016–17[18] League Two 7 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 7 0
2017–18[19] League One 13 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 13 0
2018–19 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 0 0 1 0
Total 99 0 6 1 6 0 0 0 1 0 112 1
Tranmere Rovers (loan) 2018–19 League Two 36 0 1 0 0 0 – 0 0 37 0
Tranmere Rovers 2019–20 League One 0 0 0 0 – – 1 0 1 0
Total 36 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 38 0
Career total 136 0 7 1 6 0 0 0 2 0 151 1
  1. ^ Appearance in Football League Trophy

International

As of 3 June 2018[20]
National team Year Apps Goals
Northern Ireland 2014 3 0
2015 2 0
2018 1 0
Total 6 0

References

  1. ^ a b "Player Details: Luke McCullough". English National Football Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b "McCullough Deal Confirmed". DRFC Official Site. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Luke McCullough profile". Manchester United F.C. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Manchester United's Luke McCullough joins Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Cheltenham 1–1 Aldershot". BBC Sport. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Luke McCullough: Northern Ireland international signs new Doncaster contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Luke McCullough: Doncaster Rovers man to miss entire season with knee injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Doncaster Rovers: Tommy Rowe, Andy Butler & Danny Andrew offered new deals". BBC Sport. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Luke McCullough: Tranmere re-sign midfielder after knee injury". BBC Sport. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Luke McCullough: Tranmere Rovers sign midfielder until the end of the season". BBC Sport. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Welcome Jamie, Luke and Rory". Glentoran F.C. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Player Departures Announced". glentoran.com. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Luke McCullough scores scholarship deal with Manchester United". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Luke McCullough". UEFA. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Stephen Robinson's hopes rest on seasoned starlets in quest for Milk Cup glory". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Luke McCullough | IFA". IFA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  19. ^ "Games played by Luke McCullough in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  20. ^ "McCullough, Luke". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 June 2018.