Gary Harkins (born 2 January 1985) is a Scottish professional footballer and coach who plays as a midfielder.
Having come through the youth academies at Celtic and Blackburn Rovers he would notably play in the Scottish Premiership for Kilmarnock, Dundee and St. Mirren. He also played in the English Football League for Huddersfield Town, Bury, Blackpool, Grimsby Town and Oldham Athletic, and in the Scottish Football League for Partick Thistle, Ayr United, Greenock Morton, Queen of the South, Stenhousemuir and Forfar Athletic. While at Forfar, he would also perform the role of first team coach, and later assistant manager.
Club career Blackburn Rovers Born in Greenock, Scotland, Harkins started out as a schoolboy player with Celtic where he spent three years there. Harkins was offered a move to Bolton Wanderers or stay at Celtic but opted to join Blackburn Rovers as a YTS player instead when he was sixteen years old. While progressing through the club's academy, Harkins played for the Blackburn Rovers’ under–19 squad throughout the 2002–03 season, scoring five goals in five matches throughout November. He helped the club's academy win the national age-group title after beating Aston Villa over two-legs in the final.
Harkins was appointed a trainee at Ewood Park in August 2003 but although he appeared in the academy and reserve teams, he did not play a competitive first team game for the club. The arrival of Mark Hughes as manager of Blackburn Rovers in September 2004 saw Harkins called up to play with the first team in a number of pre-season friendlies, with Hughes apparently seeing potential in his future as a central defender. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he was released by the club.
Loan spells from Blackburn Rovers Harkins joined Huddersfield Town on loan on 25 March 2004. He made his debut for the club, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Leyton Orient on 3 April 2004. Harkins made only three appearances before returning to Blackburn in June.
On 8 February 2005, Harkins joined Bury on a one-month loan. On the same day, he made his debut for the Shakers, starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against Shrewsbury Town. Having played five times in a month-long spell, Harkins returned to his parent club.
On 16 November 2005, Harkins joined Blackpool on loan for one month. He made his debut for the club, starting the match, in a 3–2 loss against Colchester United on 19 November 2005. Harkins scored in the next two matches for the club, coming against Carlisle United and Chesterfield. He went on to make six appearances and scoring two goals before returning to his parent club.
Grimsby Town On 11 July 2006, Harkins joined Grimsby Town on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–2 win against Boston United in the opening game of the season. Harkins went on to make twenty appearances in total for Grimsby Town in the 2006–07 season. His spell at Grimsby Town was an unhappy one, with factors including homesickness and a falling-out with manager Alan Buckley (who joined the club in November 2006). Reflecting on his time at the club, he said: "I hadn't been happy since moving to Grimsby and was a bit homesick. I had a really tough time at Grimsby – the name says it all, really! I just had to get out, even though I had a year left on my contract. I didn't do myself any favours and didn't get on well with the manager – it was a big growing-up experience for me. The manager who signed me, Graham Rodger, got sacked after a few months then Alan Buckley came in and I just didn't get on with him." At the end of the 2006–07 season, Buckley allowed Harkins to look for another club. Instead, Harkins was released by the club several weeks later.
Partick Thistle (first spell) Harkins then moved to his native Scotland, and after a trial signed a one-year contract with Scottish First Division club Partick Thistle on 22 July 2007.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Stirling Albion in the opening game of the season. In a follow–up match, Harkins scored his first goal for Partick Thistle, in a 2–1 win against Airdrieonians in the first round of the Scottish League Cup. A month later, on 4 September 2007, he scored again, in a 3–1 win against Berwick Rangers in the second round of the Scottish League Cup. On 3 November 2007, Harkins scored his first league goal for the club, in a 2–1 win against Clyde. While he started out at Thistle playing as a defender, his move into midfield let him play in a more attacking role. On 11 December 2007, Harkins signed a one–year contract with Partick Thistle. In a quarter–final of the Scottish Cup match against Rangers on 19 March 2008, he performed impressively throughout the match that resulted in a 1–1 draw, which resulted in a replay match. After the match, Harkins’ performance was praised by manager Ian McCall and was named Man of the Match. However in the replay match, the club loss 2–0 and was eliminated from the tournament. After serving a two match suspension, he signed a two–year contract with Partick Thistle, keeping him until 2010. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Harkins made forty appearances and scoring three times in all competitions. Manager Ian McCall, again, praised his performance for being "an increasingly influential for the club over the closing months of the campaign."
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Harkins captained Partick Thistle for the match against Queen's Park in the first round of the Scottish League Cup when he set up the second goal of the game, in a 2–1 win. Harkins then captained the club in a number of matches in the absence of Alan Archibald. He scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–2 win against Peterhead in the last 16 of the Scottish League Cup. Harkins scored two goals in two matches between 23 August 2008 and 26 August 2008 against St Johnstone and Dundee. He continued to regain his first team place for Partick Thistle, who performed "outstanding form", "who sets himself high standards and he believes his game has still to hit the heights." At some point, Harkins played in the centre–back position, due to the absence of other defenders. On 20 September 2008, he scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Greenock Morton. During the match, Harkins suffered ankle injury and was substituted in the 64th minute. But he recovered and made his return to the starting line–up, in a 2–1 loss against Rangers in the third round of the Scottish League Cup. On 1 November 2008, Harkins scored from a penalty spot, in a 2–0 win against Queen of the South. He then scored two goals in two matches between 29 November 2008 and 13 December 2008 against Stirling Albion and Airdrieonians. Harkins’ performance attracted interest from Scottish clubs in the January transfer window. Amid the transfer speculation, he maintained his form at Partick Thistle, including scoring against Clyde. On 28 February 2009, Harkins scored a brace to help the club win 4–2 against Livingston. After the match, he hoped his goalscoring exploits would help Partick Thistle achieve promotion to the Scottish Premier League. After scoring the winning goal against Dunfermline Athletic, Harkins’ performances earned him the Scottish Football League's Player of the Month for February 2009. On 4 April 2009, he scored the late equaliser, in a 1–1 draw against title contender, St Johnstone, to help the club keep the title race alive. However, his two match suspension led Partick Thistle to surrender their title hopes to St Johnstone. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Harkins scored twelve goals, making him the Partick Thistle's top goal scorer with 12 goals from 41 appearances.
For his performance throughout the 2008–09 season, Harkins won the First Division's Player of the Year and Partick Thistle's Player of the Year awards. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Harkins was offered a new contract by Partick Thistle. However, he reportedly rejected a deal, something that was denied by Ian McCall.
Dundee (first spell) After a protracted effort in which they had three offers turned down, Dundee's manager Jocky Scott said the third offer would be their last for Harkins. On 1 July 2009, the Dens increased their bid of £150,000 plus future fees for him, which was accepted by Partick Thistle. The next day, Harkins officially joined Dundee for a £150,000 plus future fees, signing a two–year contract.
He scored on his debut for the Dens, in a 5–0 win against Stranraer in the first round of the Scottish League Cup. Harkins scored four goals throughout August, including a brace against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. For his performance, he won the SFL Player of the Month for August 2009. Harkins quickly became a first team regular at Dundee in the midfield position. Between September and October, he scored three goals for the Dens, including two goals against Dunfermline Athletic on two separate occasions. In the Scottish Challenge Cup Final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Harkins scored the equalising goal, as Dundee won 3–2 to win the tournament. This was followed up by scoring in the next four league matches, including one against his former club, Partick Thistle. However, in a match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, on 26 December 2009, he received a red card for a second bookable offence, in a 1–1 draw. After serving a one match suspension, Harkins returned to the starting line–up, in a 3–2 win against Dunfermline Athletic on 17 January 2010. Harkins then scored two goals in two league matches between 6 March 2010 and 17 March 2010 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ayr United. On 30 March 2010, he scored his fifteenth goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Dunfermline Athletic. In a follow–up match against Ayr United, Harkins suffered a knock and was substituted in the 49th minute, as the club won 3–0, but he quickly recovered. He then scored two more goals for Dundee by the end of April. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Harkins made forty–five appearances and scoring nineteen goals in all competitions. For his performance, he was nominated for Scotland's Player of the Year for the First Division.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Harkins was named as the new captain of Dundee by manager Gordon Chisholm after he captained a number of friendly matches in the Dens’ pre–season. Following the appointment, Harkins said he would try his best to become a captain. In the opening game of the season, Harkins scored his first of the season, in a 1–0 win against Queen of the South. A month later, on 11 September 2010, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Dunfermline Athletic. However, the season was overshadowed by Dundee entering administration and was penalised 25 points by the Scottish Football League the following month. Harkins, who said the Dens entering administration was the darkest day of his career, expressed optimism that Dundee would avoid relegation. He led the Dens to go on a twenty–three match undefeated streak that saw Dundee out of the relegation zone. On 2 January 2011, Harkins scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Ross County. On 12 February 2011, he scored the equalising goal in the final 10 minutes of the game, as Dundee eventually beat 2–1 against Raith Rovers. On 16 April 2011, he scored his fifth goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Greenock Morton. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Harkins played in every match for the Dens, as he made forty–one appearances and scoring five times in all competitions. For his performance, Harkins was named PFA first division team of the year. He was also nominated for SFL Player of the Year in the First Division.
Kilmarnock