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.

[8] 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.

[10] 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.

[11] 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.

[12] 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.

[14] Long standing Fleetwood manager Micky Mellon left the club in December 2012 to be replaced by Graham Alexander.

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".

On 29 April 2013, McNulty agreed a two-year contract extension following performances that made him an "instant cult hero"[17] with Luton fans.

[36][37] As a graduate of the Liverpool Academy, which preaches technical development,[38] he primarily passes the ball along the ground, often beginning his team's attacking movements as a result.

His Luton teammate Alex Lacey has stated that McNulty is "a real leader" with strong communication skills,[44] while John Still credited him for improving the performances of the whole team.