Iain Angus Vigurs (born 7 May 1988) is a former Scottish footballer who played as a midfielder. He has previously played for Elgin City, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Ross County, Motherwell and Cove Rangers.
Early life Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Vigurs’ parents split up when he was two years old and was raised by his mum. His father Scott played as "a winger or a striker and was very fast" and had trials with Chelsea and QPR, but they were unsuccessful. His Mum was very supportive of his ambitions of becoming a professional footballer. His family from both parents side were all football supporters. Vigurs attended Mackie Academy in Stonehaven, where he lived before his footballing career began. His brother, Patrick, is also a footballer.
Vigurs played for Stonehaven Youth under 9s, scoring over 50 goals in his only season before moving to Aberdeen. At 12 years old, he was signed by Celtic. However, Vigurs was let go by the club when he was fourteen. Vigurs reflected on leaving Celtic, saying: "When I left Celtic I felt like I had failed a little bit." Shortly after leaving the club, he was at Albion B.C. before joining Elgin City, his first professional football club.
Club career Elgin City Vigurs played for in the Third Division, Elgin City, making his debut for the club at 15 years old, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute, in a 3–1 loss against Gretna on 4 December 2004. On 27 December 2004, he made his first professional start of his career, starting the whole game, in a 4–0 loss against Stenhousemuir. Vigurs went on to make four appearances for Elgin City in all competitions at the end of the 2004–05 season.
Vigurs made his first appearance of the 2005–06 season, coming on as a late substitute, in a 3–1 loss against Raith Rovers in the first round of the Scottish Challenge Cup. His first team run ins at Elgin City led to him having an unsuccessful trial at Leeds United. On 12 November 2005, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 win against Albion Rovers. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Vigurs went on to make ten appearances and scoring once in all competitions. He reflected on playing for Elgin City, saying: "I played for a boys club for a season then went to Elgin when I was 15. I loved every minute and gained some good experience playing in the Third Division."
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Vigurs then signed for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, where he was given a twelve-month professional contract. On 1 December 2007, he made his debut for the club, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 win against Dundee United. On 29 April 2008, Vigurs signed a one-year contract extension with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Five days later on 4 May 2008, he made his home debut for the club, assisting Ross Tokely's goal and then a minute later scored a goal with a volley, in a 6–1 win over Gretna. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Vigurs made four appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Vigurs scored his first goal of the season against Arbroath in the second round of the League Cup to a 2–2 draw and then helping Inverness Caledonian Thistle win 4–2 on penalty shootout. However, his first team opportunities were limited under managers Craig Brewster and Terry Butcher and was placed on the substitute bench as a result. In December 2008, the club offered him a new contract following his breakthrough into the first team. On 10 January 2009, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Partick Thistle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. However, Inverness Caledonian Thistle were relegated Scottish Division One. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Vigurs went on to make twenty–one appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
Following this, it was announced he was among seven players to leave the club. While at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Vigurs was "criticised for his laid back approach".
Ross County Following his release from Inverness, Vigurs joined Highland rivals Ross County on a one-year contract.
Vigurs made his debut for the club in the opening game of the season, in a 2–1 win over Airdrie United. Three weeks later on 29 August 2009, Vigurs scored a back heel against his old club (Inverness Caledonian Thistle) in his first Highland Derby, which Ross County won 3–1. Because of his good performances, he was named SFL Young Player of the Month for August 2009. Since joining the club, he quickly became a first team regular, playing in the midfield position. On 12 December 2009, Vigurs scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–3 draw against Dunfermline Athletic. In the Scottish Cup quarter-final replay against Hibernian, Vigurs provided an assist for Scott Boyd to score a last minute goal in a 2–1 win to advance to the semi–finals. On 3 April 2010, he scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Dunfermline Athletic. A week later on 10 April 2010, Vigurs started in Ross County's match against Celtic in the semi–finals of the Scottish Cup and helped the club win 2–0 to reach the final. In the Scottish Cup Final, he started the whole game, in a 3–0 loss against Dundee United. For his performance, newspaper Daily Record said about Vigurs’ performance: "He showed one or two decent touches in and around the United penalty box. Unfortunately for Ross County, Vigurs was forced to make more runs defensively than offensively as United took a grip and didn't let go." At the end of the 2009–10 season, he went on to make forty–eight appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
After serving a one match suspension, Vigurs returned to the starting line–up, in a 1–0 loss against Falkirk on 14 August 2010. Following his return, he alternated between the starting line–up and substitutes bench. Two weeks later on 25 August 2010 against St Mirren in the second round of the Scottish League Cup, Vigurs came on as a 108th-minute substitute, leading the match to penalty shootout, which he successfully converted the shootout, as Ross County won the shootout to advance to the next round. On 22 September 2010, he scored his first goal of the season, scoring an equaliser, in a 2–1 loss against Dundee United in the last 16 of the Scottish League Cup. After missing two matches, Vigurs scored on his return from a late equaliser, in a 1–1 draw against Queen of the South on 30 October 2010. He then scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Stirling Albion on 2 April 2011. Eight days later on 10 April 2011, Vigurs was in the squad for the Scottish Challenge Cup final when he scored the second goal in the match, a 2–0 win against Queen of the South as champions. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Vigurs made forty appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
After being absent at the start of the 2011–12 season, Vigurs returned to the starting line–up, in a 1–1 draw against Livingston on 17 September 2011. Two weeks later on 1 October 2011, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–0 win against Ayr United. Since returning, Vigurs regained his first team place, playing in the midfield position. A month later on 5 November 2011, he scored his second goal of the season from 25 yards shot, in a 1–0 win against Partick Thistle. On 7 January 2012, Vigurs scored twice in a 7–0 win against Stenhousemuir in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. He scored on 3 March 2012 and 6 March 2012 against Queen of the South and Partick Thistle respectively. A month later on 7 April 2012, Vigurs scored his seventh goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Livingston. A week later on 14 April 2012, he provided a double assist, in a 3–0 win against Dundee. During the season, Ross County won the Scottish First Division by a record margin of 24 points and promotion to the Scottish Premier League for the first time in the club's history, in a 5–1 win against Hamilton Academical on 28 April 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Vigurs made thirty–five appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions. Following this, he signed a new one-year contract with the club.
With the club playing in the Scottish Premier League, Vigurs played his first top–flight match in three years, as Ross County drew 0–0 against Motherwell in the opening game of the season. Since the start of the 2012–13 season, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the midfield position. Vigurs scored on 29 September 2012, 5 October 2012 and 20 October 2012 against St Mirren, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hibernian respectively. Following his first goal of the 2012–13 season against St Mirren, Vigurs described the match as "It was just a freak match. It ended up turning into a basketball game." On 24 November 2012, he scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Dundee United. Vigurs scored in both matches of the Scottish Cup fourth round against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as the club were eliminated from the tournament. On 2 February 2013, he scored his seventh goal of the season and set up the opening goal of the game, in a 2–2 draw against Hearts. After missing one match, Vigurs scored his seventh goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Motherwell on 23 February 2013. However, during a match against Kilmarnock on 30 March 2013, he suffered a shoulder injury and was substituted in the 58th minute, as Ross County loss 1–0. But Vigurs recovered and returned to the starting line–up, in a 4–2 loss against Hearts on 6 April 2013. On 5 May 2013, he scored an equalising goal from a free kick, in a 1–1 draw against Celtic. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Vigurs went on to make thirty–nine appearances and scoring nine goals in all competitions.
During his career, Vigurs referred to himself as "Ross County's Mario Balotelli", due to his training-ground eruptions and occasional crazy behaviour.
Motherwell With his contract expiring at the end of the 2012–13 season, Vigurs was linked with St Johnstone and Hibernian. He was also linked with a move to English League One side Oldham Athletic, only for the move to collapsed. Vigurs signed a two-year deal with fellow league's rivals Motherwell on 12 June 2013. Upon joining the club, he said he cannot wait to work with manager Stuart McCall and was reunited with his teammate, Paul Lawson, who also joined Motherwell.