Leaving Bolton in 1998 to join Aston Villa where he scored four goals in 46 appearances Thompson then embarked on a seven-year spell with Celtic, playing 158 games and scoring 37 goals.
He was in the team that got to the 2003 Champions League final, losing to Porto, and he scored the only goal in the 2005 Scottish Cup final. After short spells at Leeds United and Hartlepool United and winning one cap for England in 2004. Alan went into football management, starting off as assistant manager of Leeds then becoming the academy coach at Newcastle United.
After holding down the post of reserve team coach for Newcastle for a year, Alan joined Celtic as first-team coach in 2010, where he stayed for two years. In 2014, Thompson became Birmingham City’s development squad coach, a position he held for six months. Since then, he has become a highly popular and audience-friendly motivational speaker.
