Stephen Michael McNulty (born 26 September 1983) is an English professional footballer and coach who was most recently manager of Northern Premier League Division One West side Bootle. He has played in the English Football League for Fleetwood Town, Luton Town and Tranmere Rovers.
McNulty has achieved six promotions with four clubs: captaining Barrow into the Conference Premier and Fleetwood Town into both the Conference Premier and League Two, as part of the Luton Town team that won promotion to League Two in the 2013–14 season, and captaining the Tranmere Rovers team that was promoted into League Two in 2017–18 and League One in 2018–19, both via the playoffs.
Career
Early career
Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, McNulty started his career at the Liverpool Academy when he was seven years old, eventually captaining the club's under-19 team, and stayed there until his release in 2003. He trained with Second Division club Blackpool during their pre-season training prior to the 2003–04 season, but failed to win a contract. During his time out of the game he worked as a furniture van driver before being recommended to Mike Marsh by scout Owen Brown. He then played for Northern Premier League club Burscough for two seasons before moving up a division to the Conference North when signing for Vauxhall Motors in February 2005. He remained with the club for two further years and joined their divisional rivals Barrow at the beginning of the 2007–08 season on a free transfer.
Barrow
McNulty was appointed as captain in his first season at Barrow as he led the club to promotion, via the play-offs, to the Conference Premier. His performances in defence led to him being named as Conference North Player of the Year, and he signed a two-year contract extension towards the end of the 2007–08 season after interest from Football League clubs. Barrow finished the next season in 20th place, just above the relegation zone. With a year left on his contract, McNulty opted against making the transition to a full-time contract as Barrow began to shift away from being a part-time team. Manager David Bayliss stated that the club had "a wage structure that [it] can't break".
Fleetwood Town
On 16 June 2009, McNulty dropped down a league to sign for Conference North club Fleetwood Town for a then-club record fee of £17,000. He was made club captain, leading the team to promotion to the Conference Premier via victory in the Conference North play-off final. Fleetwood were defeated in the play-off semi-finals during the next season, but bounced back in 2011–12 by winning promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. They accumulated 103 points, with McNulty leading the club on a 29-match unbeaten run in the league.
He made his League Cup debut on 13 August 2012 against Nottingham Forest, and played in Fleetwood's first Football League match – a 0–0 draw with Torquay United – four days later. Long standing Fleetwood manager Micky Mellon left the club in December 2012 to be replaced by Graham Alexander. McNulty, injured at the time of the managerial change, remained sidelined as Fleetwood's defence kept five clean sheets in seven matches. After discussions about McNulty's limited playing time, Alexander allowed him to leave the club; a move criticised by Fleetwood fans, but described as having the player's "best interests at heart".
Luton Town
On 31 January 2013, McNulty joined Conference Premier club Luton Town on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of the season with a conditional 12-month extension that was dependent on Luton achieving promotion. He made 20 appearances for the club in the 2012–13 season, scoring once, as they finished seventh and outside of the promotion positions. On 29 April 2013, McNulty agreed a two-year contract extension following performances that made him an "instant cult hero" with Luton fans.
He was named as the club's vice-captain for the 2013–14 season, and was part of a defence that kept a club-record 23 clean sheets in the league, ultimately leading to Luton winning the league and being promoted to League Two. McNulty's influence on Luton's successful season did not go unnoticed, as he won the Player of the Year award, Internet Player of the Year award, as well as the Goal of the Season award for his 30-yard volley against Southport on 26 November 2013.