Keith Watson (footballer)

Keith Watson

Watson playing for Dundee United
Personal information
Full name	Keith Edward Watson[1]
Date of birth	(1989-11-14) 14 November 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Livingston, Scotland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Arbroath
Number	15
Youth career
	Livingston Star BC
2004–2006	Dundee United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2015	Dundee United	123	(8)
2009	→ Forfar Athletic (loan)	0	(0)
2009–2010	→ East Fife (loan)	6	(0)
2015	→ Hibernian (loan)	9	(0)
2015–2016	St Mirren	26	(4)
2016–2018	St Johnstone	6	(1)
2017–2018	→ Hartlepool United (loan)	9	(3)
2018–2023	Ross County	119	(3)
2023–2024	Raith Rovers	20	(1)
2024–	Arbroath	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:42, 18 August 2024

Keith Edward Watson (born 14 November 1989) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One club Arbroath.

A product of Dundee United's youth development system, Watson made his first team debut in January 2007. His early career was disrupted by injury problems, and he spent periods on loan to Forfar Athletic and East Fife before establishing himself in the Dundee United team in 2010; he was a member of the squad that won the Scottish Cup that year. Watson established himself as a regular in the right back position, making his 100th league appearance in February 2014. He spent the latter part of the 2014–15 season on loan at Hibernian.

Watson signed for St Mirren in August 2015 and joined St Johnstone in 2016. He joined Hartlepool United on loan in August 2017, and after leaving St Johnstone in the 2018 close season he signed for Ross County. After five years at the club Watson joined Raith Rovers on a free transfer in 2023.

Early life

Watson was born and brought up in Livingston, where he attended Deans Community High School.^[3] He played for Livingston Star Boys Club, a youth team run by his father, before joining the Dundee United youth system at under-14 level.^[3]

Career

Dundee United

Watson was included in the club's first team squad whilst still a youth signing, being an unused substitute for United's last two matches of the 2005–06 season.^[3] After signing his first professional contract in December 2006, Watson's debut for the Dundee United first team came in the Scottish Cup third round match against St Mirren in January 2007, when he played 85 minutes in a 3–2 victory. Following this victory, he was described by his then manager Craig Levein as "without fear of contradiction, the best young player I have ever worked with".^[4]

Watson, who made his first league appearance as a late substitute in March 2007, was due to start in the match against Celtic shortly afterwards but suffered a dislocated knee during the warm-up.^[5] Having featured in a handful of reserve matches throughout September 2008, manager Craig Levein stated he would be sent out on loan to continue his build-up to full fitness^[6] and was loaned to Forfar for a month in January 2009. Suffering another knee dislocation in a practice match after playing his first match for Forfar, Watson's loan was extended after it was revealed he would return to playing within weeks,^[7]

In 2009, Watson agreed a contract extension with United until May 2012,^[8] going out on loan again in December to East Fife.^[9]

After returning from loan in March 2010, Watson was brought on as a 47th-minute substitute for Mihael Kovačević in a 1–0 Scottish Cup victory over Rangers. This opportunity lead to 11 appearances in the remainder of the season, culminating in a substitute appearance in the 2010 Scottish Cup Final victory against Ross County on 15 May 2010.^[10]

The 2010–11 season saw a breakthrough to regular first team football for Watson, making 34 appearances in total. His first goal was marked against Motherwell in a 4–0 win at Tannadice Park on 7 May 2011, where he also won man of the match.^[11] He scored his second Dundee United goal on 17 March 2012 against Rangers.^[12]

On 28 January 2015, Watson signed for Hibernian on loan until the end of the season to provide defensive cover for the Edinburgh side.^[13] Dundee United announced in April 2015 that Watson would be released when his contract expires at the end of the season.^[14]

St Mirren

Watson signed for St Mirren on a short-term deal in August 2015.^[15] His contract was extended in December 2015 to the end of the 2015–16 season.^[16]

St Johnstone

On 2 May 2016, it was announced that Watson had signed a pre-contract agreement with St Johnstone. The contract was for two years, keeping Watson at the club until the summer of 2018.^[17] After initially struggling with injuries after joining the club, Watson was subsequently unable to break into the team once Ricky Foster became established in the right back position. Having been restricted to six first team appearances in his first season, Watson joined English National League club Hartlepool United on loan in August 2017, until January 2018.^[18] After two injury-troubled seasons, St Johnstone announced that they would release Watson at the end of the 2017–18 season.^[19]

Ross County

Watson signed for Ross County during the 2018 close season.^[20] He won the Scottish Championship in his first season with Ross County. Watson was made club captain for the 2021–22 season. On 11 March 2022 Watson signed a new one-year contract keeping him at the club until 2023.^[21] Watson left County following the expiry of his contract on 15 June 2023 after five years at the club.^[22]

Raith Rovers

On 23 June 2023, Watson joined Scottish Championship side Raith Rovers.^[23] He was released in June 2024.^[24]

Career statistics

As of 29 July 2023^[25]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dundee United	2006–07	Scottish Premier League	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2007–08		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2008–09		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2009–10		8	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	2010–11		29	1	5	0	1	0	2[a]	0	37	1
	2011–12		17	1	0	0	1	0	2[a]	1	20	2
	2012–13		29	2	4	0	2	0	2[a]	1	37	3
	2013–14	Scottish Premiership	25	3	3	0	1	1	0	0	29	4
	2014–15		14	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	16	2
	Total		123	8	17	1	6	1	6	2	152	12
Forfar Athletic (loan)	2008–09	Scottish Third Division	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
East Fife (loan)	2009–10	Scottish Second Division	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Hibernian (loan)	2014–15	Scottish Championship	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
St Mirren	2015–16	Scottish Championship	26	4	1	1	1	0	1[b]	0	29	5
St Johnstone	2016–17	Scottish Premiership	4	1	1	0	1	0	–		6	1
	2017–18		2	0	0	0	0	0	–		2	0
	Total		6	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	8	1
Hartlepool United (loan)	2017–18	National League	9	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	3
Ross County	2018–19	Scottish Championship	27	3	3	0	4	0	1[b]	0	35	3
	2019–20	Scottish Premiership	17	0	0	0	4	0	–		21	0
	2020–21		23	0	1	0	2	0	–		26	0
	2021–22		24	0	0	0	2	0	–		26	0
	2022–23		28	0	1	0	3	0	2[c]	0	34	0
	Total		119	3	5	0	15	0	3	0	142	3
Raith Rovers	2023–24	Scottish Championship	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	4	1
Career total			298	19	25	2	27	2	10	2	360	25

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
3. Appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs

Honours

Club

Dundee United

• Scottish Cup: 2009–10^[10]

Ross County

• Scottish Championship: 2018–19^[26]
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2018–19^[27]

References

1. Statutory registers – Births – Search results, ScotlandsPeople
2. Keith Watson at Soccerway
3. "Keith Watson profile". Dundee United FC Official Website. Dundee United Football Co Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
4. "KEITH'S BEST KID I'VE EVER WORKED WITH". Daily Record. 2007.
5. "Watson faces surgery on knee". The Courier (Dundee). 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
6. "Watson continues comeback trail". The Courier (Dundee). 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
7. Dey, Graeme (11 February 2009). "Starlet hit by new knee injury". The Courier (Dundee). Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
8. "Trio extend contracts". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
9. "East Fife bring in two defenders". BBC Sport. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
10. McGuigan, Thomas (15 May 2010). "Dundee United 3–0 Ross County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
11. "Dundee Utd 4 – 0 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
12. "Dundee United V Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
13. Spence, Jim (28 January 2015). "Keith Watson joins Hibs as Dundee United target Paul Dixon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
14. "Dundee United to release trio at the end of the season". BBC Sport. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
15. "St Mirren sign up defender Keith Watson on short-term deal". BBC Sport. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
16. "Keith Watson: Contract Extension". BBC Sport. 29 December 2015. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
17. "Keith Watson: St Johnstone sign defender from St Mirren". BBC Sport. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
18. Nicolson, Eric (25 August 2017). "St Johnstone defender Keith Watson joins Hartlepool United on loan". The Courier. DC Thomson. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
19. "Manager announces summer departures". St Johnstone FC. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
20. "List of SPFL summer signings". SPFL. 14 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
21. "Captain Keith Watson signs new contract to stay at Ross County in one-year deal". 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
22. "RCFC – Departing Players". rosscountyfootballclub.co.uk. Ross County FC. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
23. "Keith Watson signs up". raithrovers.net. Raith Rovers FC. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
24. "Raith in talks with 5 as 6 depart". thecourier.co.uk. The Courier. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
25. Keith Watson at Soccerbase
26. "Ross County Secure title and promotion". BBC. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
27. "Ross County lifted the Challenge Cup for a third time". BBC Sport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.

External links

• Official Dundee United FC website profile
• Keith Watson at Soccerbase