Alexander McNair (24 December 1882 – 18 November 1951) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Celtic for 21 years and represented the Scotland national team in 15 official internationals between 1906 and 1920. McNair also represented the Scottish League XI 15 times.^{[4][lower-alpha 1]} He then managed Dundee from 1925 until 1927.

McNair began his career at Stenhousemuir. He played at inside right and was a regular goalscorer, helping the club win the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1901 and 1902.^[6] He also played in the Stenhousemuir team that reached the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1903, losing 4–1 to Rangers.^[6]

In May 1904, McNair signed for Celtic.^[7] He initially played in a variety of positions, but when right-back Donnie McLeod left in 1908, McNair made that position his own.^[7] He was an integral part of the Celtic side spearheaded by Jimmy Quinn that won six successive league championships from 1904–05 to 1909–10.^[8] McNair had exceptional positional sense and ability to anticipate his opponents' moves.^[8] He was a precise tackler and had confidence in his ability to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area rather than rashly boot it forward.^[8] He was a calm and composed personality, and his demeanour earned him the nickname 'The Icicle'.^[7][8] Willie Maley, the Celtic manager, described McNair as "The coolest, most intelligent player I have ever seen."^[6]

In his 21 years at Celtic McNair played a total of 641 games for the club in major competitions, winning the league championship 12 times and the Scottish Cup six times.^[7][8] He played his last game on 18 April 1925, a 1–1 draw with Queen's Park. He was 41 years old and is the oldest player ever to play for Celtic.^[9] McNair's appearances, trophy and caps totals might have been even higher had it not been for the interruption of World War I when the League continued but the Cup and internationals were suspended, considering that his success at club level and selection for Scotland continued after the conflict.^[10]

He received a benefit match in 1921, in which a combined Rangers/Celtic team played against a Scottish League team (the league also selected Celtic players John McFarlane and Tully Craig, who scored all their team's goals in a 3–1 win).^[11]

McNair became manager of Dundee in June 1925. His first two seasons saw Dundee finish mid-table and then fifth. However, after a poor start to season 1927–28, he left Dens Park in October 1927. He then left full-time participation in football to become a stockbroker, but still kept some involvement in the game by working as a referee supervisor.^[12]

• List of footballers in Scotland by number of league appearances (500+)
• List of Scotland national football team captains
• List of Scotland wartime international footballers