Shaun Rooney

For people of a similar name, see Sean Rooney.

Shaun Antony Rooney (born 26 July 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a defender for Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. He has previously played for Fleetwood Town, Queen's Park, Dunfermline Athletic, York City, Queen of the South, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone.

Shaun Rooney

Rooney playing for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Shaun Antony Rooney[1]
Date of birth	(1996-07-26) 26 July 1996 (age 28)[2]
Place of birth	Bellshill, Scotland
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
2010–2013	Dundee United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Queen's Park	32	(4)
2015–2016	Dunfermline Athletic	11	(1)
2016–2017	York City	30	(1)
2017–2018	Queen of the South	24	(0)
2018–2020	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	56	(8)
2020–2022	St Johnstone	50	(3)
2022–2024	Fleetwood Town	53	(7)
2024	St Mirren	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:10 6th September 2024 (UTC)

Career

Queen's Park

Rooney was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire.^[4] He started his career playing youth football with Bellshill Boys Club and Dundee United,^[5] before signing with Scottish League Two club Queen's Park in July 2013.^[6] Rooney's first-team debut came shortly after signing for the club, in a Scottish Challenge Cup defeat against Ayr United at Hampden Park.^[7] During the 2013–14 season, Rooney made 11 appearances for Queen's Park.^[7] His breakthrough season came in 2014–15, when he played in 30 matches, scoring his first goal on 15 November 2014 with a header against Elgin City in a 4–1 win.^[8][9] Rooney's impressive performances for Queen's Park saw him awarded the club's Young Player of the Year^[10] and also being named in the PFA Scotland Scottish League Two Team of the Year.^[11]

Dunfermline Athletic

The start of 2015–16 saw Rooney go on trial with both Hearts and St Mirren,^[12] however it was Dunfermline Athletic that he eventually signed with.^[13] Rooney appeared initially on trial with Dunfermline in August 2015 and was a named substitute against Peterhead and Stranraer, replacing Lewis Martin in defence against Stranraer.^[14] His debut after signing for the club came as a first half substitute against Ayr United, replacing Callum Fordyce after the Dunfermline captain was injured.^[15] Rooney's first goal for Dunfermline came against Stenhousemuir in December 2015, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory at East End Park.^[16] He made 14 appearances and scored one goal^[17] as Dunfermline won the Scottish League One title in 2015–16.^[18]

York City

Rooney playing for York City in 2016

Rooney joined newly relegated National League club York City on 23 May 2016 on a two-year contract.^[19] On 21 May 2017, Rooney came on as a 75th-minute substitute as York beat Macclesfield Town 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in the 2017 FA Trophy Final.^[20] Rooney completed 2016–17 with 38 appearances and one goal in all competitions^[18] while York were relegated to the National League North with a 21st-place finish in the table.^[21]

Queen of the South

Rooney signed for Scottish Championship club Queen of the South on 9 June 2017 on a one-year contract.^[22]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

On 25 April 2018, Rooney signed a pre-contract agreement to join Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 1 June 2018 upon the expiration of his contract at Queen of the South.^[23] He made his debut on 14 July, starting in a 2–0 home win over Cove Rangers in the Scottish League Cup.^[24] He scored his first goal for Inverness on 1 September with a 51st-minute header from Tom Walsh's cross in a 3–0 away win over Dunfermline in the league.^[24][25]

St Johnstone

In June 2020, Rooney moved to St Johnstone on a two-year deal, having signed a pre-contract earlier in the year.^[26][27] On 28 February 2021 he scored the winning goal as St Johnstone beat Livingston 1–0 in the 2021 Scottish League Cup Final.^[28] On 22 May 2021, through a header in the 32nd minute Rooney scored the only goal of the 2021 Scottish Cup Final against Hibernian as St Johnstone won 1–0 at Hampden Park to complete a historic cup double, becoming the fifth player in the 21st century to score in both cup finals in the same season.^[29]

Fleetwood Town

Rooney signed for League One club Fleetwood Town on 25 May 2022 on a two-year contract.^[30]

St Mirren

In May 2024, Rooney signed a two-year contract at Scottish Premiership club St Mirren.^[31]

On 26 September 2024, the club announced that Rooney had been suspended due to his involvement in an alleged incident in Glasgow the previous week.^[32] On 27 September 2024, Police Scotland confirmed that Rooney had been arrested and charged with assaulting an 18 year old woman and a breach of the peace involving an 18 year old male, with the latter treated as a hate crime.^[33]

On 18th October 2024, St Mirren announced that Rooney had left the club by mutual consent.^[34]

Personal life

His great-uncle Benny Rooney was also a footballer, mainly with St Johnstone, and his great-grandfather Bob also played but was better known as a physiotherapist at Celtic.^[35]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 February 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[lower-alpha 1]		League Cup[lower-alpha 2]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Queen's Park	2013–14[7]	Scottish League Two	8	0	1	0	1	0	—		1[lower-alpha 3]	0	11	0
	2014–15[8]	Scottish League Two	24	4	2	0	0	0	—		4[lower-alpha 4]	0	30	4
	Total		32	4	3	0	1	0	—		5	0	41	4
Dunfermline Athletic	2015–16[17]	Scottish League One	11	1	2	0	0	0	—		1[lower-alpha 3]	0	14	1
York City	2016–17[18]	National League	30	1	2	0	—		—		6[lower-alpha 5]	0	38	1
Queen of the South	2017–18[36]	Scottish Championship	24	0	3	0	3	1	—		4[lower-alpha 3]	2	34	3
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	2018–19[24]	Scottish Championship	31	5	6	1	4	0	—		5[lower-alpha 6]	0	46	6
	2019–20[37]	Scottish Championship	25	3	3	0	0	0	—		3[lower-alpha 3]	0	31	3
	Total		56	8	9	1	4	0	—		8	0	77	9
St Johnstone	2020–21[38]	Scottish Premiership	27	2	4	1	8	3	—		—		39	6
	2021–22[39]	Scottish Premiership	23	1	0	0	3	1	4[lower-alpha 7]	0	2[lower-alpha 8]	2	32	4
	Total		50	3	4	1	11	4	4	0	2	2	71	10
Fleetwood Town	2022–23[40]	League One	22	5	2	0	2	0	—		2[lower-alpha 9]	0	28	5
Career total			225	22	25	2	21	4	4	0	28	4	303	32

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup
4. Appearances in Scottish League One play-offs
5. Appearances in FA Trophy
6. One appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup, four in Scottish Premiership play-offs
7. Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, two in UEFA Europa Conference League
8. Appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs
9. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Dunfermline Athletic

• Scottish League One: 2015–16^[18]

York City

• FA Trophy: 2016–17^[41]

St Johnstone

• Scottish Cup: 2020–21^[29]
• Scottish League Cup: 2020–21^[28]

Individual

• PFA Scotland Team of the Year: 2014–15 Scottish League Two^[11]
• Queen's Park Young Player of the Year: 2014–15^[10]

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2016 and 31/07/2016". The Football Association. p. 27. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
2. "Shaun Rooney: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
3. "Shaun Rooney". Fleetwood Town F.C. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
4. "Shaun Rooney". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
5. "First team squad: Shaun Rooney". Dunfermline Athletic F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
6. Lindsay 2013, Clive (18 September 2013). "Scottish League Two ins and outs summer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
8. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
9. "Elgin City 1–4 Queen's Park". BBC Sport. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
10. Cope, Niall (23 May 2016). "Rooney arrives". York City F.C. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016.
11. Keown, Gary (1 May 2015). "PFA Scotland Team of the Year sees Rangers' season voted unworthy of mention". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
12. Thomas, Grieg (19 August 2015). "Hearts in pole position to sign highly-rated Queen's Park kid Shaun Rooney". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
13. "Dunfermline snap up Shaun Rooney". The Courier. Dundee. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
14. "Dunfermline 3 Stranraer 1". Dunfermline Athletic F.C. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
15. "Dunfermline 0 Ayr United 2". Dunfermline Athletic F.C. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
16. "Dunfermline 1 Stenhousemuir 0". Dunfermline Athletic F.C. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
17. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
18. "S. Rooney: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
19. Flett, Dave (23 May 2016). "York City sign Dunfermline right-back Shaun Rooney". The Press. York. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
20. Flett, Dave (21 May 2017). "York City lift FA Trophy to win at Wembley for a fourth time in their history". The Press. York. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
21. "National League: 2016/17: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
22. Martini, Peter (9 June 2017). "Defender Shaun Rooney leaves York City for Scottish side Queen of the South". The Press. York. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
23. "New signing – Rooney joining the team". Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
24. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
25. Dewar, Heather (1 September 2018). "Dunfermline 0–3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
26. Nicolson, Eric (2 June 2020). "Shaun Rooney can be the second Highland hit at St Johnstone after Jamie McCart". The Courier. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
27. "Players return for testing as Rooney officially joins Club". perthstjohnstonefc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
28. Lindsay, Clive (28 February 2021). "Livingston 0–1 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
29. Lindsay, Clive (22 May 2021). "St Johnstone 1–0 Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
30. "Town make Rooney first summer signing". Fleetwood Town F.C. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
31. "Shaun Rooney becomes first new signing ahead of 2024/25". www.stmirren.com. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
32. "Club Statement". www.stmirren.com. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
33. "St Mirren player Shaun Rooney charged with assaulting teenager". BBC News. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
34. "Club Statement - Shaun Rooney". www.stmirren.com. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
35. St Johnstone hero Shaun Rooney on his family ties to Saints and Celtic sides who squared off in 1969 League Cup final, Eric Nicholson, The Courier, 28 February 2021
36. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
37. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
38. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
39. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
40. "Games played by Shaun Rooney in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
41. "Macclesfield Town 2–3 York City". BBC Sport. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

External links

• Profile at the Fleetwood Town F.C. website