Stephen Crainey

Stephen Daniel Crainey is a back of Wigan Athletic. He was born on 22 June 1981 in Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1997, Stephen started to perform for the first squad of Celtic after he had graduated from the academy of the club. The footballer penned a long-term contract, but did not come on the pitch very often and made only 41 appearances for the team during seven years.

In 2004, Crainey left Scotland and transferred to English side Southampton. He took part in five fixtures during six months and drew the attention of Leeds United, which lodged a tempting bid for the back. Stephen sealed a three-year deal with ‘The Peacocks’ in the summer 2004 and featured in 54 games during his spell, which was not the possible maximum, but helped the footballer to gain the necessary experience.

In 2007, Crainey completed a move to Blackpool, where he became a regular almost at once and appeared in more than 200 matches until June 2013 when he moved to Wigan Athletic.

From 2001 till 2002, the back took part in seven games for the Scotland national U-21 squad. From 2002, he has been capped 12 times for the senior national team.