Jim Jefferies

Football player infobox
playername = Jim Jefferies


fullname = James Jefferies
height = height|ft=6|in=0
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1950|11|22
cityofbirth = Musselburgh
countryofbirth = Scotland
currentclub = Kilmarnock (Manager)
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears = 1965–1967
youthclubs = Gorgie Hearts
years = 1967–1981 1967–1968 1968–1969 1981–1983
clubs = Heart of Midlothian → Haddington Athletic (loan) → Gala Fairydean (loan) Berwick Rangers
caps(goals) = 227 (5) 060 (0)
manageryears = 1983–1988 1988–1990 1990–1995 1995–2000 2000–2001 2002–
managerclubs = Gala Fairydean Berwick Rangers Falkirk Heart of Midlothian Bradford City Kilmarnock

Jim Jefferies (born November 22, 1950 in Musselburgh, East Lothian) is the Scottish football manager of Kilmarnock F.C..

Career

Also a former player, whose defensive versatility often counted against him in the attacking Hearts team in the 1970s, Jefferies has enjoyed considerably greater success as a manager than during his playing career.

He began his senior managerial career with Berwick Rangers in September 1988, despite a great deal of financial turmoil during that time he turned the struggling team around including a club record breaking 21 game unbeaten league run in season 1988-89. In the 1990 close season he took over at Falkirk guiding them to the Scottish Division One title (and promotion to the Scottish Premier Division) in 1994.

In August 1995, Jefferies moved to Hearts. He was manager of the Hearts team which won the Scottish Cup in 1998, undoubtedly his greatest success in the game.

Jefferies moved south of the border in November 2000 to replace Chris Hutchings as manager of Premiership strugglers Bradford City. He was given the task of selling players by chairman Geoffrey Richmond and was unable to prevent them from going down. He resigned in December 2001 after a poor start to the season left them with no hope of a promotion challenge.

In February 2002, he returned to management back in his native Scotland with Kilmarnock. He has kept Kilmarnock in a respectable position despite the necessity of drastically reducing the club's wage bill, reaching the final of the CIS Insurance Cup in 2007. Following Alex McLeish's departure from Rangers at the end of the 2005-06 season, Jefferies is currently the longest-serving manager in the Scottish Premier League.

Honours

Player

;Heart of Midlothian
*Runners-up
**Scottish Cup: (1) 1975–76

Managerial

;Falkirk
*Winners
**Scottish First Division: (2) 1990–91, 1993–94

;Heart of Midlothian
*Winners
**Scottish Cup: (1) 1997–98

*Runners-up
**Scottish Cup: (1) 1995–96
**Scottish League Cup: (1) 1996–97

;Kilmarnock
*Runners-up
**Scottish League Cup: (1) 2006–07

External links

*soccerbase (manager)|1528|Jim Jefferies