Mark Kerr (born 2 March 1982) is a Scottish professional football player and coach.
Kerr started his career with Falkirk in 1998, and later played for Dundee United (appearing in two major finals with the club) and Aberdeen before joining Asteras Tripolis in Greece. On Returning to Scotland, Kerr played for Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee, Partick Thistle and Queen of the South before rejoining Falkirk in 2015. He made one appearance for the Scotland B team in 2005.
In October 2019, Kerr was appointed player/manager of Ayr United. He left this position on 28 February 2021 by mutual consent.
Club career Falkirk Raised in Coatbridge, Kerr started out at his football career at his boyhood club, Celtic. However, he was let go and joined Moodiesburn Boys Club. Kerr then joined Falkirk as a sixteen-year-old, and progressed through the Youth Development scheme at Brockville, so was well known to then-manager Ian McCall and his management team.
Kerr made his Falkirk debut towards the end of the 1998–99 season at the age of 17 against Clydebank. He made two appearances when the 1998–99 season was concluded. The following 1999–00 season, he turned out seven times and scored his first goal in a 3–3 draw at Ayr United.
At the 2000–01 season, Kerr quickly won his first team place at Falkirk, playing as a midfielder. On 21 August 2000, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. His performance attracted interests from English clubs, who were interested in signing him. Kerr was even offered a trial by West Ham United and Ipswich Town, but the Bairns didn't let him go halfway through the season. But he went on a trial with Leeds United that saw him out for one match. Amid the transfer speculation, Kerr scored his second goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Alloa Athletic on 16 September 2000. In a match against Livingston on 30 September 2000, he impressed throughout 90 minutes and was named Man of the Match. His performances earned him September's Young Player of the Month and October's Young Player of the Month. It was soon expected that Kerr would be leaving Falkirk in the summer after rejected a new contract offered by the Bairns. Despite this, he was named as the second tier's Young Player of the Year for the 2000–01 season. His performance from manager Alex Totten, commenting that Kerr was magnificent, who came a long way. At the end of the 2000–01 season, he made thirty–seven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2001–02 season, manager Alex Totten is determined to keep Kerr at Falkirk by trying to persuade to sign a contract with the Bairns. However, he rejected a new contract from Falkirk. Amid to his future at the Bairns, Kerr scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against Arbroath in the first round of the Scottish Challenge Cup. A week later, on 18 August 2001, he scored his first league goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against St Mirren. Kerr continued to regain his first team place at Falkirk. After receiving a red card in a 2–0 loss against Raith Rovers in the second round of the Scottish League Cup match, he scored on his return, in a 2–2 draw against Ayr United on 13 October 2001. However, the Bairns came under fire by the Scottish Football Association after it revealed that Kerr played while on suspension. Falkirk was eventually fined by the Scottish Football Association and Kerr, himself, was suspended once again. Despite this, he signed a contract extension with the Bairns, keeping him until 2003. On 2 March 2002, Kerr scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against Clyde. At the end of the 2001–02 season, he made thirty–five appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2002–03 season, Kerr continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the midfield position. However, by this point, his promising career was stalled, with interests from English clubs declined. Despite this, he has become a key player to the Bairns becoming title contenders in Scottish First Division. On 26 October 2002, Kerr scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–4 draw against St Mirren. With his contract expiring at the end of the 2002–03 season, Aberdeen interested in signing Kerr. This prompted manager John Hughes to offer him a new contract in hopes of staying at Falkirk. In the quarter–final replay of the Scottish Cup replay against Dundee, he received a red card for a second bookable offence, in a 4–1 loss. On 19 April 2003, Kerr scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against Arbroath to help the Bairns secure the Scottish First Division title. At the end of the 2002–03 season, he made forty–six appearances and scoring two times in all competitions. Throughout his time at Falkirk, Kerr hardly missed a game for the Bairns and by the time he left, he had accumulated 125 appearances and scored nine times.
Dundee United On 1 July 2003, Kerr moved to Dundee United on a Bosman transfer, signing a three–year contract. Their manager Ian McCall had been keeping tabs on the Scotland Under-21 player since he himself left Falkirk.
Kerr made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Hibernian in the opening game of the season. He soon settled at Tannadice and became a regular in the side. Between mid–October and November, he appeared once for Dundee United, due to being on the substitute bench. On 29 February 2004, Kerr scored his first goal for the Tangerines, in a 2–0 win against Rangers. By the end of his first season, he had racked up 33 League and two cup appearances and scoring once in all competitions. His tenacity in midfield was a feature of the latter part of the campaign in which United finished strongly to take fifth place, their best finish since 1996–97 season.
Commencing the 2004–05 season in the starting eleven, Kerr scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Stranraer in the second round of the Scottish League Cup at Tannadice. However, he suffered a dip in form and only appeared another four times before making his way back into the first team at the turn of the year. Kerr then scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–3 thrilling win against Gretna in the third round of the Scottish Cup. He went on to miss only one more match throughout the rest of the season, and became a vital part of the midfield as Gordon Chisholm became manager. Following the 1–1 draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 19 February 2005, Kerr was subjected of abuse by Dundee United's supporters. Despite this, he came on as a 66th-minute substitute, and helped the Tangerines beat Hibernian 2–1 to reach the final. In the derby match against Dundee on 30 April 2005, Kerr produced a Man of the Match performance, in a 2–1 win. In the last game of the season against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, he helped Dundee United win 1–0 to secure the Scottish Premier League status. Kerr played the entirety of the final, as the match ended with the Tangerines loss 1–0 to Celtic. At the end of the 2004–05 season, he went on to make thirty–seven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Kerr made his European debut, starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against MyPa in the first leg of the UEFA Cup second qualifying round. On 19 August 2005, he signed a three–year contract with Dundee United, keeping him until 2008. In the return leg, Kerr scored his first European goal, in a 2–2 draw, as the Tangerines were eliminated from the tournament on away goal. He continued to regain his first team place in the midfield position. His performances was praised by manager Gordon Chisholm, saying: "he has started the season very well and I think his critics have finally been won over." On 11 March 2006, Kerr scored his first league goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Livingston. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Kerr made thirty–eight appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2006–07 season, Kerr set up two goals for Dundee United in two separate matches, coming against Rangers and St Mirren. Since the start of the 2006–07 season, he continued to regain his first team place in the midfield position. During a match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 16 September 2006, Kerr was ill and was substituted in the 53rd minute, as the Tangerines drew 0–0. Shortly after, manager Craig Brewster revealed that he returned to training the next day despite his illness, saying: "Mark was ill during the Inverness game so we took him off but he's back in again now and has been training as hard as usual. His attitude is first-class and he's a great professional." When Dundee United meet Inverness Caledonian Thistle again in the fourth round of Scottish Cup on 3 February 2007, Kerr earned a Man of the Match award for his performance despite losing 1–0. After missing two matches through suspension (up until his suspension, he appeared in every match for the Tangerines), Kerr returned to the starting line–up, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against St Mirren on 5 May 2007. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he made forty appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2007–08 season, Kerr suffered an injury that saw him not play in the first two league matches. He made his first appearance of the season, in a 0–0 draw against Hibernian on 18 August 2007. Following his return from injury, Kerr found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. On 10 November 2007, he made his first league starts in three months, and gave his excellent performance, in a 2–0 win against Kilmarnock. Following this, Kerr won back his first team place in the starting eleven. In the 2008 Scottish League Cup Final, with his team 1–0 ahead in the closing minutes of normal time, he was responsible for a careless backpass pounced upon by Kris Boyd who equalised for Rangers; the game moved into extra time and a penalty shoot-out, which United lost. After the match, Kerr apologised to the team for letting them down. Despite this, he remained in the first team for the remainder of the season. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Kerr made thirty–eight appearances in all competitions. Kerr chose to leave when his contract expired at the end of June 2008.
Aberdeen In July 2008, it was reported that Kerr was on the verge of a move to Dundee United's New Firm rivals Aberdeen, and he subsequently moved to Pittodrie on a Bosman transfer, taking over the number 8 shirt vacated by Barry Nicholson.
Kerr made his debut for the club, starting the match, in a 2–0 loss against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the opening game of the season. Since joining Aberdeen, he quickly established himself in the midfield position, forming a partnership with Gary McDonald. Kerr then set up a goal for Andrew Considine to break the deadlock in the 80th minute, as the club won 2–0 against St Mirren on 11 November 2008. He then became Aberdeen's key player in the midfield position for his ability to take the ball down and pass it, as well as, covering huge areas looking for the ball all the time. A month later, on 20 December 2008, Kerr, set up a goal for McDonald, in a 3–0 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. In a match against Hibernian on 21 March 2009, however, he received a red card in the 83rd minute for having an altercation with Rob Jones, as the match finished in a 0–0 draw. After serving a three match suspension, Kerr made his return to the starting line–up, in a 3–1 loss against Celtic on 2 May 2009. In a follow–up match against Dundee United, he received a red card in the 75th minute for confronting the referee, as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. After serving one match suspension, Kerr made his return to the starting line–up, in a 1–1 draw against Rangers on 7 May 2009. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he made thirty–six appearances in all competitions.