Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)
Robert Sime 'Roy' Aitken (born November 24, 1958, in Irvine, Ayrshire) is a former football player who went on to become a coach with Leeds United and Aston Villa. His position as a player was midfield.
He started his life in Ardrossan, where most of his family still live today. Roy was Educated at St Peter's Primary School in the town, a place which fueled his love of the game; before going on to St Andrews Academy of Saltcoats when he was twelve. He was an astute pupil, certainly able to go on to higher education but having also furthered his keen interest in football, decided to sign a S-Form with his boyhood Heroes Celtic. During his time at the school he not only excelled at Football but also Rugby and track & field, winning both the schools title of Junior Sports Champion, and then following that by winning the Senior Sports Champion title the next year, whilst still only in 4th year.
He previously had a glowing playing career with Celtic where he was nicknamed 'The Bear' by the supporters due to his large frame and commanding presence. The chant 'Feed the Bear' could be heard on a weekly basis from the terraces of Celtic Park. The supporters took to Roy right from start of his career and he is still reguarly voted in All Time XI's by the fans who still consider him a club legend. He also proudly played 57 games for the Scotland national football team, scoring once. He later went on to play for Newcastle United, St Mirren and Aberdeen. After his playing career he had a short spell in management with Scottish Premier League team Aberdeen, and won the Scottish League Cup in 1995 before turning his attention to coaching.
He went on to become a highly respected coach with Leeds United before rejoining former Leeds coach David O'Leary at Aston Villa. On July 20, 2006 he was named caretaker manager of Aston Villa after O'Leary's exit by mutual consent the previous evening. Aitken managed Villa to 3 pre-season victories before being replaced by the new Villa manager, Martin O'Neill.
He is now one of Alex McLeish's assistants with the Scotland national side as of January 2007.