Name: James Hagan
Born: 10 August 1956, Monkstown
Height: 5.11 ft
Weight: 11.09 st
Position: Defender
.
Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 6 Under-18 Caps; Irish FA Representative.
Club Honours: (with Seiko) Hong Kong League Champion 1980/81; (with Birmingham) Football League Division Two Runner-Up 1984/85 (promoted).
Awards: Ulster Young Footballer of the Year 1976; Spanish League - Foreign Player of the Year 1988.
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Club Career:
Teams
|
Seasons
|
Signed
|
Fee
|
League
|
FA.Cup
|
FL.Cup
|
Other
|
Larne
|
74/75-77/78
|
1974
|
Youth
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Coventry
City
|
77/78-81/82
|
Nov-77
|
£25,000
|
12 (1)/0
|
3(0)/0
|
-
|
-
|
Torquay
United
|
79/80
|
Sep-79
|
Loan
|
7 (0)/0
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Detroit
Express
|
1980
|
Mar-80
|
Loan
|
30 (-)/0
|
(NASL)
|
-
|
-
|
Seiko
|
80/81
|
Oct-80
|
Loan
|
-
|
(Hong
Kong)
|
||
Birmingham
City
|
82/83-86/87
|
May-82
|
Free
|
124(13)/0
|
5(1)/0
|
20(1)/0
|
-
|
RC.Celta.de.Vigo
|
86/87-88/89
|
Jan-87
|
-
|
*59 (-)/0
|
(Spain)
|
||
Larne
|
89/90
|
Aug-89
|
Free
|
3 (-)/0
|
-
|
-
|
9(0)/0
|
Colchester.Utd
|
89/90
|
Nov-89
|
Free
|
2 (0)/0
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Larne
|
89/90
|
Jan-90
|
Free
|
5 (0)/0
|
1(0)/0
|
-
|
-
|
IK
Oddevold
|
1990 - 1991
|
May-90
|
-
|
-
|
(Sweden)
|
||
Ballymena
Utd
|
91/92-93/94
|
May-91
|
-
|
39 (2)/0
|
2(1)/0
|
4(0)/0
|
23(0)/0
|
Carrick
Rangers
|
93/94
|
Oct-93
|
-
|
10 (0)/0
|
1(0)/0
|
-
|
1(0)/0
|
Larne
|
93/94-94/95
|
Jan-94
|
-
|
16 (0)/0
|
-
|
1(0)/0
|
7(0)/0
|
Crusaders
|
94/95
|
Jan-95
|
-
|
1 (2)/0
|
1(0)/0
|
2(0)/0
|
-
|
Coleraine
|
95/96
|
c/s-95
|
-
|
2 (0)/0
|
-
|
-
|
0(1)/0
|
TOTALS
|
-
|
£-
|
310(18)/0
|
13(2)/0
|
27(1)/0
|
40(1)/0
|
|
* Primera Liga games only.
.
Biography:
Although Jim Hagan was never capped, he was a member of Danny Blanchflower's Northern Ireland squad of the late 1970s, and appeared for the "senior" team against Glentoran in Bobby McGregor's testimonial in May 1977. At the time he was making waves in the Irish League with Larne, and the previous season had been voted Ulster Young Player of the Year. In November 1977 he made a £25,000 move to the English First Division with Coventry City, leaving behind his job as a booking-clerk for the Larne-Stranraer ferries.
.
Hagan served a long apprenticeship at Highfield Road, but was unable to make a sustained impact on the first eleven. He spent spells out on loan with Torquay United (in September 1979), Detroit Express (in March 1980) and Seiko (in October 1980, where he helped the club to a clean-sweep of Hong Kong League, Cup and Senior Cup during an extended stay). Included by Billy Bingham in Northern Ireland's provisional forty man squad for the 1982 World Cup Finals, that was as close to international selection as he came during the 1980s, a mention as a "possible" in the 1986 World Cup brochure aside.
.
Finally released by Coventry in the summer of 1982, Hagan was snapped-up by another First Division side, Birmingham City. He walked straight into the starting eleven and remained a regular in the team for the next five seasons as the bounced between the top two Divisions. Capable anywhere across the back-four, it was as a bone-crunching centre-back that he will be best remembered.
.
In 1987 Hagan joined Spanish club, Celta Vigo. He spent two-and-a-half successful season in Spain, helping the club to promotion and top-half finishes in the Primera Liga, and being awarded as the Overseas Player of the Year in 1988, despite competition from the likes of Gary Lineker. Hagan returned to Larne in August 1989, and also spent a brief spell with Colchester United on a non-contract basis before spending a year in Sweden with IK Oddevold from May 1990 to May 1991.
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Appointed player-manager by Ballymena United on returning from Sweden, Hagan continued to pull on his boots in the Irish League regularly up to his fortieth year, including during a disastrous spell in charge of cash-strapped Larne in 1994. Hagan made his final Irish League appearance for Coleraine in December 1995.
..
At the turn of the millennium Hagan was working in Sunderlands youth set-up before becoming Larne's Irish FA appointed Youth Development Officer. He was appointed Larne's assistant-manager to Kenny Shiels in October 2005. With Shiel's appointment as an IFA County Coach, Hagan became Larne manager again. Second time around the position proved as unsuccessful as his first attempt, and Hagan was sacked in November following a poor run of results. He continued to work as a coach in youth and women's football, briefly scouted for Norwich, and was appointed manager of Wellington Rec in February 2009.
