Dennis Lawrence

Dennis Lawrence - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Dennis Lawrence

Dennis William Lawrence (born 1 August 1974) is a Trinidadian professional football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.

This profile of Dennis Lawrence covers Club Career, International Career, Career and Rise to Fame and Personal Life.

Prior to coaching, Lawrence had a successful playing career in England, Wales and Trinidad and Tobago. He lifted the Caribbean Cup with the Trinidad and Tobago national team and won several cup competitions with Wrexham before winning a league title with Swansea City.

Before moving to Everton in 2013, Lawrence had coached for three years at Wigan Athletic during which time he became the first Trinidadian to win the FA Cup. He was also the manager of the Soca Warriors from 2017 to 2019.

Club Career of Dennis Lawrence

Prior to becoming a footballer, Lawrence worked as a supermarket attendant in Port of Spain. He later joined the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force and became eligible to play for their football team Defence Force.

Lawrence signed for Wrexham for a fee of £100,000 in 2001, joining from Defence Force of his native Trinidad, becoming the third Trinidadian at Wrexham along with Hector Sam and Carlos Edwards. Before signing for Wrexham, he had trials at Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers.

After some poor performances when he first joined the club, Lawrence went on to become a valued and popular player at the Welsh club, winning the 2003–04 Player of the Season award. He has also become the first Wrexham player to play at a World Cup, starting all three of his country's games.

He signed for Swansea City on 16 August 2006 after Swansea had lost central defender and skipper Garry Monk to injury. He made an impressive Swansea debut in a 2–0 win over Doncaster Rovers winning the Man of the Match award.

On 30 September 2008 it was announced he had joined Crewe Alexandra on a 4-month loan until January. On 30 December 2008, the loan was extended until the end of the 2008–09 campaign, but he returned to the Liberty Stadium at the end of his loan spell on 2 May.

Lawrence was released from his contract after two years with Swansea City on 4 May, with his former loan employers Crewe Alexandra interested in a permanent move.

In September 2009 he signed a deal to play for San Juan Jabloteh in his native Trinidad.

On 18 March 2010, Wrexham manager Dean Saunders revealed that Lawrence was training at his former club along with fellow former Swansea player Kristian O'Leary.

International Career of Dennis Lawrence

Lawrence has been an important player for the Trinidad and Tobago national team, having made his debut on 18 March 2000. He was awarded the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award at the 2001 Caribbean Cup, which Trinidad and Tobago won. On 16 November 2005, he (in his 61st cap) scored the goal against Bahrain that awarded Trinidad and Tobago a ticket to the 2006 World Cup. He played every minute of his country's campaign in Germany as the Soca Warriors secured an impressive 0–0 draw against Sweden and gave England a run for their money.

He is also the player who approached Port Vale's Chris Birchall and asked him if he was interested in representing Trinidad and Tobago (Chris' mother was born there).

After a failed qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Lawrence, who had succeeded Dwight Yorke as national captain, announced his retirement from international football with 89 caps under his belt.

Career and Rise to Fame

Lawrence joined Wigan Athletic as a coach in October 2010 after impressing manager Roberto Martinez on a trial during the 2010–11 pre-season. When Martinez was appointed as manager of Everton, Lawrence was appointed as first-team development coach.

On 30 January 2017, Lawrence was appointed manager of Trinidad and Tobago.

On 25 June 2021, Lawrence was appointed as Coventry City's first-team coach, joining manager Mark Robins' coaching team. On 12 March 2022, Robins and his assistant Adi Viveash both tested positive for COVID-19, which left Lawrence in charge of the Sky Blues during their game against Sheffield United, which ended in a 4–1 win.

On 13 March 2024, Lawrence joined Minnesota United as an assistant coach alongside Eric Ramsay. In January 2026, Lawrence joined West Bromwich Albion as their assistant coach with Ramsay as first-team head coach.

Personal Life

As a member of the Trinidad and Tobago squad that competed at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Lawrence was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold Class), the second highest state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Lawrence), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.