Gavin Skelton

Gavin Skelton

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Personal information
Full name	Gavin Richard Skelton
Date of birth	(1981-03-27) 27 March 1981
Place of birth	Carlisle, England
Height
Team information
Current team	Queen of the South (player-coach)
Number	29
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2000	Carlisle United	8	(0)
2000–2001	Workington	42	(1)
2001–2008	Gretna	200	(29)
2008–2010	Kilmarnock	47	(1)
2010–2011	Hamilton Academical	16	(0)
2011–2013	Barrow	82	(1)
2013–2015	Workington	36	(0)
2015–	Queen of the South	0	(0)
Managerial career
2014–2015	Workington
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:04, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Gavin Richard Skelton (born 27 March 1981 in Carlisle) is an English footballer who is currently the assistant manager of Scottish Championship side Queen of the South.

Playing career

Skelton started his career at Carlisle United as a trainee. In 1997, after three years at Brunton Park he moved to non-league Workington Reds and one year later joined then Northern Premier League outfit Gretna. Gretna joined the Scottish Football League in 2002, eventually gaining promotion to the Scottish Premier League during the 2006/07 season. In the 2006 Scottish Cup final versus Hearts, Skelton missed the crucial kick in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. His miss denied Gretna their first major trophy, however they still qualified for the UEFA Cup as a result of their run to the final.

Due to Gretna's financial difficulties, in April 2008 it was reported that Skelton was in talks with Kilmarnock and Aberdeen On 19 May 2008 Skelton was one of the remaining 40 staff members who were released by Gretna. Two days earlier, Skelton had scored the winning goal on his side's final SPL fixture against Hearts. In June 2008 Skelton signed for SPL side Kilmarnock but left the club under freedom of contract in June 2010.

After his release from Killie, Skelton signed for Hamilton Academical. He was released by Hamilton following their relegation from the SPL in May 2011 and signed for Barrow on 6 July 2011.

Coaching career

In order to gain coaching and managerial experience, Skelton coached the Stirling University team part-time, whilst playing for Kilmarnock FC.

Skelton was appointed as Workington manager in May 2014, replacing Ian MacDonald. He had joined the Reds as a player/coach in 2013. Skelton led the Borough Park side to the Northern Premier League Play-offs in his only full season in charge, finally falling to Ilkeston in front of 1,500 supporters at Borough Park.

Skelton left Workington in June 2015 to take a coaching role with the Dumfries club Queen of the South.

Personal life

His sister, Helen, is a television presenter who formerly worked on the popular children's television show Blue Peter.

External links

• Gavin Skelton career statistics at Soccerbase