Paul McShane (footballer)

Paul McShane
McShane with the Republic of Ireland in 2013
Personal information
Full name Paul David McShane[1]
Date of birth (1986-01-06) 6 January 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Wicklow, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Manchester United
(Professional Development Phase coach)
Youth career
St Joseph's Boys
2002–2004 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Manchester United 0 (0)
2004–2005Walsall (loan) 4 (1)
2005–2006Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 38 (4)
2006–2007 West Bromwich Albion 32 (2)
2007–2009 Sunderland 24 (0)
2008–2009Hull City (loan) 17 (1)
2009–2015 Hull City 102 (3)
2011Barnsley (loan) 10 (1)
2012Crystal Palace (loan) 11 (0)
2015–2019 Reading 96 (3)
2019–2021 Rochdale 35 (0)
2021–2022 Manchester United 0 (0)
Total 369 (16)
International career
2005–2006 Republic of Ireland U21 6 (1)
2006–2016 Republic of Ireland 33 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:10, 01 July 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:28, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

Paul David McShane (born 6 January 1986) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. Upon retirement in 2022 he was named the Professional Development Phase coach at Premier League side Manchester United.

Born in Wicklow, Ireland, McShane moved to England when he was 16 to play for Manchester United, with whom he won the 2003 FA Youth Cup. He had loan stints with Walsall and Brighton & Hove Albion before making a permanent move to West Bromwich Albion in 2006. He joined Sunderland a year later, but spent the 2008–09 season on loan to Hull City before making a permanent move there in 2009. He spent six years with Hull, broken up by loan spells with Barnsley and Crystal Palace, before joining Reading in 2015. After four years with Reading, he moved to Rochdale but was released following the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2021, when he made a return to Manchester United as a player-coach for the club's under-23s team. He retired from playing at the end of the season, when he took up a youth coaching role full-time.

McShane represented the Republic of Ireland at every level from Under-15s upwards. He made six appearances for the under-21s before making his debut for the senior team in 2006. He was named in the Ireland squad for UEFA Euro 2012, but did not make an appearance at the tournament. He earned his 33rd and final cap in March 2016, although he was named as a standby player for UEFA Euro 2016.

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018" (PDF). English Football League. p. 33. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  2. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. ^ "Paul McShane". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.