A traditional tricky winger, McLean started his career at Kilmarnock, where at one point all three brothers were at the club together, Jim and Tommy as players and Willie as a coach.

Three of those games were during a 1967 overseas tour that the Scottish Football Association decided in October 2021 to reclassify as full internationals,[5] which increased McLean's cap tally from six to nine.

[2] In October 2016 he was inducted into the Kilmarnock 'Hall of Fame' alongside other well-known former players such as James Fowler, Ray Montgomerie and Stuart McLean (no relation).

Motherwell defeated Dundee United, who were managed by his brother Jim, in the cup final[8] to enter Europe for the first time in their history.

[11][12][13] His spell at Raith Rovers in 1996 was remarkable for lasting only six days and encompassing only one game; the lure of working under Jim, by then chairman of Dundee United, saw him quit Stark's Park for Tannadice amidst substantial acrimony.