Willie Kirk

Willie Kirk (born 7 June 1978) is a Scottish football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Women's Super League club Leicester City.

Playing career
Kirk played non-League football for Preston Athletic and agreed to manage the team in the 2014–15 Lowland Football League season.

Livingston FC Academy
Kirk began his managerial career at Livingston as an assistant academy coach for the club's under-14 team in October 2006. He advanced to head coach of the under-14 team and took over head coaching position for the next age group up to the under-17 team.

Hibernian
In March 2009, Kirk joined the academy coaching staff at Hibernian to coach the under-17 team. Ultimately, Kirk earned the head coaching position of Hibernian L.F.C. His first season in charge of Hibernian led to winning the 2010 Scottish Cup. Kirk followed up the 2010 Cup title by winning Scottish League Cup title, finishing as runners-up in the Scottish Cup, and third position in the table. The 2013 season saw Hibernian finishing second and Kirk earning Scottish Women's Football Manager of the Year award.

Bristol City
In April 2015, Kirk made the move to England and was appointed manager of Bristol City competing in the FA WSL 1. After a rough season, Bristol City was relegated to WSL 2, finishing in last place after the 2015 season. The relegation was short lived, as Kirk's Bristol City rallied in the WSL 2 finishing second during the WSL season and earned promotion back to the FA WSL 1. Kirk's subsequent seasons would see back-to-back eighth place finishes, maintaining safety in the women's top flight.

Manchester United
In June 2018, Kirk joined the coaching staff at the newly formed Manchester United as an assistant to Casey Stoney.

Everton
In December 2018, Kirk was appointed manager of Everton after being offered the number one position of a top flight team. His debut as manager of the Blues was a victory, defeating rivals Liverpool 2–1. On 16 October 2021, Kirk left his position.

Leicester City
In July 2022, Kirk was appointed as director of football at Leicester City. On 3 November 2022, Kirk was appointed as manager, following the departure of Lydia Bedford. On 8 March 2024, it was reported that Leicester had suspended Kirk and launched an investigation into an alleged relationship between him and one of the players. The investigation prompted several other managers in women's football to comment that relationships between managers and players are inappropriate. On 28 March 2024, Leicester sacked Kirk as a result of the investigation having found that he had "breached the team's code of conduct to a degree that makes his position untenable".

Executive career
In July 2022, Kirk joined Women's Super League club Leicester City as their first-ever director of football for both the first team and the academy.

Honours
Hibernian Women
 * Scottish Women's Premier League Cup: 2011
 * Scottish Women's Cup: 2010, runners-up: 2011

Individual
 * Scottish Women's Football Manager of the Year: 2013
 * Women's Super League Manager of the Month: November 2019, October 2023