Lee Johnson

Johnson won the EFL Trophy a few months later, in what was Sunderland's first Wembley triumph since the 1973 FA Cup final.

A short run of poor results and a heavy defeat away to Bolton Wanderers led to him being replaced by Alex Neil.

Johnson was appointed Hibernian manager in May 2022, and he was sacked in August 2023.

He then became manager of Fleetwood Town, but was sacked from this role after three months.

Born in Newmarket, Suffolk, Johnson is the only child of Caron and football manager Gary Johnson.

He began his career as a youth player with Arsenal, but left the club aged 17 after a feud with a coach.

Lee Johnson (born 7 June 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed Fleetwood Town.

Prior to becoming a manager, he played as a midfielder for Brighton & Hove Albion, Yeovil Town, Heart of Midlothian, Bristol City, Derby County, Chesterfield and Kilmarnock.

He then went on to join Watford, whose youth system was run by his father; he did not make a senior appearance for the club prior to his departure in 2000.

In 2000, Johnson signed for Brighton & Hove Albion, scoring in his only appearance for the club against Cardiff City in the Football League Trophy, before having a non-contract spell with Brentford during the final months of the 2000–01 season, in which he failed to receive a call into the squad.

He then went on to sign for Conference side Yeovil Town in July 2001 on a free transfer.

Managed by his father Gary, Yeovil achieved two promotions, reaching the Football League Second Division.

In this time, Johnson won the player of the year award three times consecutively.

Johnson joined Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian on 11 January 2006 for a transfer fee of £50,000, signing onto a two-and-a-half-year contract.

His debut came as a late substitute in a 4–1 victory over Dunfermline Athletic, and he started his first game in another 4–1 win over Hearts' Edinburgh derby rivals Hibernian.

Less than two months after Johnson joined Hearts, manager Graham Rix was sacked, which resulted in Johnson receiving less game time: he only made one substitute appearance prior to his departure, six months after signing.

In August 2006, Johnson rejoined his father at Bristol City.

On 12 August 2006, Huddersfield Town manager Peter Jackson was sent to the stands after grabbing Johnson around the throat in a touchline incident 10 minutes from full-time.

He was part of the Bristol City team that won promotion to the Championship in the 2006–07 league campaign.

In the 2007–08 season, Johnson enjoyed his favoured season for Bristol City, as they pushed for promotion to the Premier League, being a key figure in their run to the play-off final, which his side lost 1–0 to Hull City, narrowly missing out on promotion.

On 1 January 2010, Johnson joined fellow Championship side Derby County on an initial month-long loan.

He played his first game for Derby the following day, in an FA Cup fixture at Millwall, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Johnson returned to Bristol City after this spell came to an end.

Despite Derby intending to retain Johnson until the end of the season, Bristol City refused.

He subsequently went on loan to Chesterfield in August 2011.

His stint at Bristol City concluded on 31 January 2012, after his contract was mutually terminated.

On 10 February 2012, Johnson signed a two-and-half-year deal with Scottish side Kilmarnock, returning to Scotland after his departure from Hearts six years previously.

On 18 March, he played in the Scottish League Cup final, in which Kilmarnock were victorious over Celtic, when Johnson set up the winning goal in their 1–0 success.

Johnson made his managerial debut with Oldham Athletic in 2013 and led the club to safety.

He left Kilmarnock in January 2013, after his contract was mutually terminated.

Johnson was eligible to play for the Gibraltar national football team, due to the birthplace of his grandmother.

On 18 March 2013, Johnson was appointed manager of EFL League One side Oldham Athletic, signing a two-year contract.

At the age of 31, his appointment made him the youngest manager in the English Football League, with him also managing in the same league as his father, Gary, who was then the manager of Yeovil Town.

His first game in charge was a 3–0 victory over Hartlepool United the day after his appointment, which saw Oldham move out of the relegation zone.

In September 2014, the Gibraltar Football Association contacted him regarding interest in playing for the national team in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

Despite considering the offer, he declined, stating, "I don't really want to be running after the world champions when we've [Oldham] got a game on Saturday."

In February 2015 he took over as head coach of Barnsley, and a year later he was appointed as the new manager of Bristol City after an undisclosed compensation fee was agreed.

Under Johnson's management, City finished twelve points above the relegation zone in eighteenth place.

In July 2020, Johnson was dismissed as head coach; he was then the longest-serving manager in the Championship.

In December 2020 he became head coach of Sunderland.