Whitburn F.C.

Whitburn Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Whitburn, West Lothian. They play their home games at Central Park and currently compete in the East of Scotland League Premier Division

Whitburn F.C.

Full name	Whitburn Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Burnie
Founded	1930 as Whitburn Amateurs, turned Junior c. June 1934
Ground	Central Park East Main Street Whitburn
Capacity	4,000
Co-managers	Craig Young John Millar
League	East of Scotland League Premier Division
2024–25	East of Scotland League Premier Division, 7th of 16
Home colours Away colours

History

Formed on 31 May 1930 as Whitburn Amateurs F.C., they turned Junior over the summer months of 1934.

Nicknamed The Burnie, the club's colours are claret and amber. The club have won the Scottish Junior Cup on one occasion, defeating Johnstone Burgh on penalties in the 1999–00 final,^[1] as well as being runners up on two other occasions losing to Bonnyrigg Rose in 1966, and to Camelon in 1995.

Whitburn moved to the East of Scotland Football League and joined the bottom tier ahead of the 2021–22 season. They won back-to-back titles in Conference X and then the Second Division^[2], followed by a third successive promotion by a securing their spot in the Premier Division for 2024–25.

After victories in the Alex Jack Cup and Victory Shield in 2024-25 they qualified for the preliminary round of the Scottish Cup for the first time. On August 9th, 2025 Whitburn defeated Scottish Amateur Cup winners Stein Thistle AFC 3.2 to qualify for the 2nd preliminary round were they will take on Scottish Junior Cup winners Johnstone Burgh for a place in the first round proper.

In 1997-98 season, the side managed by Brian Fairley managed to win 4 trophies in what was a very successful season which also saw 8 players capped for Scotland juniors.

Brian McNaughton was the manager when Whitburn finally lifted the Scottish Cup at the third attempt in May 2000 with Stevie Prior the heroic goalscorer. The team was also managed from 2014 to 2016 by former St Mirren boss Tom Hendrie.^[3]

In season 2021-22, Whitburn joined the East of Scotland Senior League, starting in the bottom tier along with the remaining Junior clubs who had resisted the exodus, and Junior football was no more although the club kept the Juniors part in their official name.

After two league title victories in a row, Whitburn find themselves in the East of Scotland Premier Division just below the Lowland League and potential league football in the future if successful.

Although he never ended up playing for the club, Rangers legend John Greig famously signed a white form with Whitburn Juniors in 1959, which allowed him to play for the club if he didn't succeed at Ibrox.

Other notable figures include internationalists like Paul Taylor and Bruce Clouston who played for the Scotland Junior team, and the legendary long-serving player Dewi Taylor who scored 73 goals in over 200 appearances and had a significant impact on the club's success.

Club staff

Board of directors

Role	Name
Secretary	Ann Haddow
Club Official	Robert Cook
Club Official	Steven Greer

Coaching staff

Role	Name
Co-managers	Craig Young and John Millar
Coach	Gavin King
Physio	Archie Gilmour
Kit man	Robert Haddow

Source

Current squad

As of 31st May 2024^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SCO Daniel Farrell — GK  SCO Blair Gallagher — DF  SCO Ethan Kerr — DF  SCO Stephan Murray — DF  SCO Alister Croall — DF  SCO Andrew Gillen — DF  SCO Michael McGarahan — DF  SCO Sammy Watson — DF  SCO Darren Tomaszewski — DF  SCO Lennon Watson

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SCO Callum Bremner — MF  SCO Steven Clark — MF  SCO Callum Hambrook — MF  SCO John James Henderson — MF  SCO Flynn McCafferty — MF  SCO Andrew Thomson — FW  SCO Ross Crawford — FW  SCO Darren Liddell — FW  SCO Cammy Graham — FW  SCO Harrison Edwards — FW  SCO Dewi Taylor

Managerial history

Name Nationality Years William Strickland 1951-?[5] Colin Sinclair 1986-?[6] George Fairley 1988-?[7] Derek Strickland 1992-94[8] Brian McNaughton Keith Burgess 1994-1996[9] Brian Fairley 1996-1999[10] Brian McNaughton 1999-2000 Derek Strickland 2013-?[11] Derek Halcrow 2009-?[12] Tom Hendrie 2014-2016[13] Colin Martin 2016-?[14] Jamie Sandilands 2020-2021[15] Darren Wilson 2021-[16]

^c Caretaker manager

¹

Honours

Scottish Junior Cup

• Winners: 1999–2000
• Runners-up: 1965–66, 1994–95

Other honours

• Alex Jack Cup: 2024–25
• Cup Winners Shield: 2024-25
• East of Scotland Centenary Cup winners: 2023
• East of Scotland League Second Division winners: 2022–23

• East of Scotland League Conference X winners: 2021–22
• East Region Premier Division winners: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2000–01
• East Region Division One winners: 1977–78
• Lothian District Division One winners: 2004–05
• East of Scotland Junior Cup winners: 1965–66, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1997–98, 2001–02^[17]
• Fife & Lothians Cup: 1969–70, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1998–99^[18]
• Brown Cup winners: 1959–60, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1972–73, 2000–01