Mark Russell (footballer, born 1996)

Mark Russell (born 22 March 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-sided midfielder for League of Ireland side Finn Harps.

Mark Russell

Personal information
Date of birth	22 March 1996
Place of birth	Paisley, Scotland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Left midfielder[1]
Club information
Current team	Finn Harps
Number	12
Youth career
	Gleniffer B.C.
	St. Mirren B.C.
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2018	Greenock Morton	126	(4)
2018–2019	Falkirk	3	(0)
2019–	Finn Harps	50	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:30, 5 February 2021 (UTC)

He began his career with Greenock Morton and made over 100 appearances for them, before spending a short spell with Falkirk.

Early life

Born in Paisley, Russell attended Gleniffer High School.[2]

Club career

Russell moved into the professional game when he signed a full-time contract with Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship as part of their new development squad.

He made his début for the club as an injury time substitute for Dougie Imrie in November 2013.[3]

In June 2014, Russell signed a new two-year development squad contract with Morton.[4]

Russell was included in the PFA Scotland League One Team of the Year for 2014-15 along with teammate Declan McManus.[5]

In Autumn 2015, Russell rejected a new contract offer from Morton.[6] A second offer was made, which Russell accepted in December 2015.[7][8]

In June 2017, Russell signed up for a further season with the club.[9]

Falkirk

He left Morton in June 2018 in search of a new challenge, signing a six-month contract with rival Championship club Falkirk.[10] After making just four appearances for Falkirk, he was released by the club in January 2019.[11]

Finn Harps

Shortly after leaving Falkirk, Russell trialled with League of Ireland Premier Division side Finn Harps, earning himself a one year deal at the Irish club.[12] He featured in 29 games for the club, scoring one goal in the relegation play-offs, as Harps retained their place in the Premier Division.[13]

Following speculation around his future, he signed a new one year extension for the 2020 season in January 2020.[14]

2020 saw Russell having a successful season with Finn Harps. In the shortened 18 game season, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Russell scored three times as the Donegal side recorded their highest league finish in twenty years, with Russell playing a number of games as a support striker. In turn, he finished as the clubs top league goalscorer. The season ended in disappointment, however, as Harps were controversially beaten by Shamrock Rovers F.C. in the FAI Cup quarter final.[15]

Russell signed on for a further year at Harps in January 2021, marking his third season in succession with the club.[16]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 February 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Greenock Morton	2013–14[17]	Scottish Championship	12	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
	2014–15[18]	Scottish League One	25	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	27	3
	2015–16[19]	Scottish Championship	30	0	4	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	37	0
	2016–17[20]		30	1	3	0	5	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	40	1
	2017–18[21]		29	0	3	0	4	0	0	0	36	0
Falkirk	2018–19	Scottish Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
Finn Harps	2019	League of Ireland Premier Division	25	0	1	0	2	0	2[lower-alpha 3]	1	30	1
	2020	League of Ireland Premier Division	17	3	3	0	0	0	—		20	3
	2021	League of Ireland Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Career total			171	7	17	0	13	0	6	1	207	8

1. Appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup
2. Appearances in the Premiership play-offs
3. Appearance in the 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division Playoff

Honours

Morton

• Scottish League One: Winners 2014–15[22]
• PFA Scotland League One Team of the Year: 2014–15[23]

See also

• Greenock Morton F.C. season 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16

References

1. Mark Russell at WorldFootball.net
2. Mitchell, Jonathan (26 September 2013). "The Next Big Thing...This week, Mark Russell". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
3. "Morton 2–0 Dumbarton". Scottish Professional Football League. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
4. Mitchell, Jonathan (10 June 2014). "Youngster Russell stays with Morton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
5. "PFA Scotland Teams of the Year". Scottish Professional Football League. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
6. Mitchell, Jonathan (8 October 2015). "Russell waiting for right offer from Morton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
7. Mitchell, Jonathan (17 December 2015). "Deal me in". Greenock Telegraph. p. 24.
8. "Contract extensions". Greenock Morton F.C. 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
9. Mitchell, Jonathan (14 June 2017). "Mark Russell signs one-year contract extension". Greenock Morton F.C. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
10. "Mark Russell signs". falkirkfc.co.uk. Falkirk F.C. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
11. "PLAYER DEPARTURES". Falkirk Football Club. 3 January 2019.
12. https://www.finnharps.ie/post/horgan-adds-mark-russell-to-harps-squad
13. https://www.donegaldaily.com/2019/11/08/russell-glad-to-have-made-his-mark-on-finn-harps/
14. http://www.donegalsporthub.com/russell-returns-as-finn-harps-add-winger-osullivan-for-2020-season/
15. https://www.the42.ie/3-penalties-in-5-minutes-helps-shamrock-rovers-survive-scare-5273827-Nov2020/
16. https://www.finnharps.ie/post/mark-russell-returns-for-2021
17. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
18. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
19. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
20. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
21. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
22. "Greenock Morton claim League 1 title after 3–1 win against Peterhead". Scottish Television. 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
23. "PFA Scotland Teams of the Year". Scottish Professional Football League. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

External links

• Mark Russell at Soccerbase
• Mark Russell on Twitter
• Mark Russell at Soccerway