He signed several former Stoke City team-mates, including Bill Asprey, Alan Philpott, George Kinnell and Keith Bebbington. However McIlroy did not cope well with the pressure of management and resigned after losing 4–0 against Luton Town on the opening day of the 1968–69 season. He returned to Stoke City for a short while as assistant to Waddington before moving to Bolton Wanderers as coach and assistant to Nat Lofthouse. McIlroy had an 18-day spell in charge after Lofthouse's departure but resigned after just two matches on principle after being told by the board to sell players. After football He retired to the Burnley area and was a regular attender of Burnley home matches. He was given Freedom of the Borough Burnley in December 2008 and was given a testimonial match by Burnley in 2009. McIlroy was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 New Years Honours List for services to football and to charity, and arranged to receive the honour at Burnley's Turf Moor ground rather than at Buckingham Palace. In April 2015, the feature-length documentary Spirit of '58 was screened as part of the Belfast Film Festival. It featured Jimmy McIlroy prominently alongside the other surviving players (Billy Bingham, Peter McParland, Billy Simpson and Harry Gregg) as it told the story of Northern Ireland's journey throughout the 1950s under the managership of Peter Doherty, culminating in the 1958 World Cup. McIllroy died on 20 August 2018 at the age of 86. In a statement Burnley called him "our greatest ever player." Jimmy McIlroy Stand Burnley's stadium, Turf Moor, has a stand named in McIlroy's honour. The stadium's eastern stand was rebuilt in the late 1990s after the Beehole End was demolished and was named the "Jimmy McIlroy Stand". Career statistics Playing career Source: A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the European Cup and FA Charity Shield. Managerial career International Source: International goals Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first. Honours Burnley First Division champions: 1959–60 FA Cup runner-up: 1962 Stoke City Second Division champions: 1962–63 References 1931 births 2018 deaths Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers Burnley F.C. players 1958 FIFA World Cup players Glentoran F.C. players Northern Ireland international footballers Football managers from Northern Ireland Association footballers from Northern Ireland Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers People from County Antrim Stoke City F.C. players Members of the Order of the British