Derek Collins is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 former professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.

Collins started his playing career with Greenock Morton

Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....

 where he spent over a decade after making his debut in 1987. In 1997 Collins joined Hibernian

Hibernian F.C.

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

 and returned to Greenock Morton via loan spells at Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

, Partick Thistle

Partick Thistle F.C.

Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...

 and Sliema Wanderers

Sliema Wanderers F.C.

Sliema Wanderers Football Club are a Maltese football team from the town of Sliema, which currently plays in the Maltese Premier League.-History:The club was founded in 1909...

 of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

In his second spell with Greenock Morton, Collins established himself as the holder of the record number of appearances for the club. (534 appearances, overtaking the previous record holder, David Wylie

David Wylie

David Wylie is a former Scottish football goalkeeper.Wylie is still registered as the fourth choice goalkeeper for Greenock Morton, where he is the goalkeeping coach, due to a constant stream of injuries to goalkeepers at the club.-Career:Wylie spent 13 years at Greenock Morton, making over 500...

, by 52 games.)

In January 2005, Collins signed for where he combined his playing role with coaching duties before becoming a coach full-time for the 2006-07 season.

Derek Collins also has the honour of being the only player to play in all four of Scotland's senior leagues with the same club (Greenock Morton), a feat he achieved when he captained Morton against Gretna in Gretna's first ever Scottish Football League

Scottish Football League

The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...

 game.

When Davie Irons

Davie Irons

David John "Davie" Irons is a Scottish former professional footballer who has transitioned to football management.His playing career spanned 26 years as a central defender or midfielder...

 left Gretna for Morton as manager, Collins went with him as his assistant.

In September 2009, after a poor start to the season, Collins and Irons were sacked by Morton.

Honours

Greenock Morton (first spell)

• Scottish Second Division
  Scottish Football League Second Division
  The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
  
  : 1

1994–95

1994-95 in Scottish football

The 1994–95 season was the 98th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season seen the re-introduction of the Scottish 3rd division, after an absence of 26 years, and also the introduction of three points for a win being awarded instead of just two.-Notable events:*Raith Rovers...

Hibernian

• Scottish First Division
  Scottish Football League First Division
  The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
  
  : 1

1998–99

1998-99 in Scottish football

The 1998–99 season was the 102nd season of Scottish league football.-Summary:The 1998–99 SPL season was one that ended in success for Rangers. Dutchman Dick Advocaat was brought in to replace Walter Smith at Rangers and made major changes, bringing in many players.Rangers were...

Partick Thistle

• Scottish Second Division
  Scottish Football League Second Division
  The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
  
  : 1

2000–01

2000-01 in Scottish football

The 2000–01 season was the 104th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2000–01 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic, 15 points clear of Rangers who finished second. Both teams earned a place in the UEFA Champions League. Hibernian and Kilmarnock...

Greenock Morton (second spell)

• Scottish Third Division
  Scottish Football League Third Division
  The Scottish Football League Third Division is the lowest division of the Scottish Football League and the fourth overall in the Scottish football league system....
  
  : 1

2002–03

2002-03 in Scottish football

The 2002–03 season was the 106th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2002–03 Scottish Premier League was won on goal difference by Rangers by a single goal over Celtic. Both Rangers and Celtic qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and...

Gretna

• Scottish Second Division
  Scottish Football League Second Division
  The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
  
  : 1

2005–06

2005-06 in Scottish football

The 2005–06 season was the 109th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2005:*1 June: Gordon Strachan officially takes charge of Celtic after the resignation of Martin O'Neill...

• Scottish Third Division
  Scottish Football League Third Division
  The Scottish Football League Third Division is the lowest division of the Scottish Football League and the fourth overall in the Scottish football league system....
  
  : 1

2004–05

2004-05 in Scottish football

The 2004–05 season was the 108th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2004:*6 July 2004 - Nacho Novo from Dundee to Rangers, £450,000*1 July 2004 - Dado Prso from AS Monaco to Rangers, Bosman...