Rangers Born in
Glasgow, He made his first appearance on 1 May 2004 against future club
Motherwell at the age of 17, coming on in place of
Mikel Arteta in the 61st minute of a 4–0 win at
Ibrox. Fifteen days later, McCormack scored his first goal for the club in the final match of the
2003–04 season against
Dunfermline Athletic at
East End Park. He started the game and won a penalty when fouled by
Barry Nicholson, which he converted himself in a 3–2 win. On 23 November 2005, he made his European debut away to
FC Porto in the
UEFA Champions League group stage, replacing
Francis Jeffers with 14 minutes remaining. Seven minutes later, with the Gers' first shot on target, he equalised in a 1–1 draw. McCormack's opportunities were limited in a Rangers side when
Dado Pršo and
Nacho Novo returned from injury and the club signed
Kris Boyd from
Kilmarnock in January 2006. On 21 January, he was sent out on
loan to English
League One club
Doncaster Rovers in order to gain first team experience. McCormack made his Well debut on 30 July as the team began the SPL season with a 2–1 home loss to Rangers, in which he assisted their goal by
Phil O'Donnell. His first season at
Fir Park was disrupted by illness that caused an overactive
thyroid gland and ruled him out from September until February 2007. On 28 February, he scored his first goal for the team, a consolation in a 2–1 home loss to
First Division team
St Johnstone in the quarter-finals of the
Scottish Cup. His only league goals of the campaign came on 12 May, one in each half of a 3–2 home loss to
St Mirren. In 2007–08, McCormack became a fixture in the Motherwell first team, where he found himself better suited to playing in a 4–3–3 formation, receiving the October 2007 Young Player of the Month award. The season also saw an improvement in his goal tally as he scored a total of 11 goals, although he reached this mark on 16 February with a brace against
Gretna and suffered a goal drought in the remaining 14 games of the season.
Cardiff City in 2010 In January 2008, McCormack was linked with a move to
Premier League sides
Wigan Athletic, even coming as close as having a contract ready to be signed with the club, and
Middlesbrough but no deal was agreed and he eventually signed for
Championship side
Cardiff City on 28 June on a free transfer, although the clubs would later agree on a compensation fee of £120,000. On his arrival, McCormack stated that one of the biggest reasons that persuaded him to sign for the club, alongside the chance to play first-team football and the group of Scottish players on the club's books, was the presence of his idol
Robbie Fowler, only for the former
England international to leave the club soon after. McCormack made his league debut on the opening day of the season in a 2–1 victory over
Southampton and went on to score his first competitive goal for Cardiff in a 1–1 draw against Doncaster the following week. He finished the season as the club's top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and joint second place Championship top scorer. His final goals of the season in a 3–1 win over
Burnley were the last goals scored at
Ninian Park by a Cardiff player in a competitive match. On 23 July 2009 it was reported McCormack handed in a transfer request. This was denied by his agent who claimed that there is a 'gentleman's agreement' in his contract that stipulates that he can speak to any Premier League club who bid for his services. Amidst interest from Premier League clubs, on 8 August he was involved in three goals of a 4–0 win over
Scunthorpe United in the first match at the
Cardiff City Stadium.
Leeds United On 24 August 2010, Cardiff agreed a fee with
Leeds United over a possible transfer, and three days later he signed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his Leeds debut on 28 August as a 70th-minute substitute in a 1–0 win over
Watford, and his first start in a 0–0 draw with
Doncaster Rovers on 17 September. On 30 April 2011, he scored his first goal for Leeds in a 1–0 win over Burnley, and was named
man of the match. His only other goal of the campaign was in Leeds' 2–1 win over champions
Queens Park Rangers in the final game of the season. in 2012 With two goals in a 3–3 draw against
Brighton & Hove Albion on 23 September 2011, including an injury-time equaliser, McCormack became the first Leeds player in over 50 years to score in six consecutive league games. He was nominated for the Championship Player of the Month Award for September, which went to Middlesbrough's
Matthew Bates. He was linked with a move to
Wolves during November, but manager
Simon Grayson stated that he did not want to sell McCormack. During December, he was linked with moves to Premier League clubs
Blackburn Rovers and Wolves again. In April 2012, Leeds were in negotiations with McCormack over extending his current deal. He finished the season as the club's top scorer. On 28 April, after he scored 19 goals in all competitions for Leeds during the 2011–12 season won the
Yorkshire Evening Post Player of the Year Award for Leeds United. On 17 August 2012, he signed a new three-year deal with the club. Later in the month he entered negotiations for a new contract, ending the uncertainty about the player's future after three separate bids by
Middlesbrough in the region of £1.8 million. On 30 August, after Leeds had rejected those bids, McCormack signed a new four-year deal with the club. McCormack became the first Leeds player to score four times in a league match since
Brian Deane in 2004, and the first to do so in an away match for 87 years, in a 4–2 victory over
Charlton Athletic on 9 November 2013 which put him to the top of the Championship leading scorers of the 2013–14 season with 11 goals. On 16 January 2014, McCormack was named club
captain after
Rodolph Austin stepped down from the role. In January 2014, Leeds rejected bids for McCormack from
West Ham United and then on transfer deadline day from Cardiff. With rumours of interest also from
Sunderland on deadline day, McCormack released a statement via
Sky Sports News that he pledged his future to Leeds and also his support of manager
Brian McDermott, who was sacked only 30 minutes later. The next day, McCormack scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 victory against local rivals
Huddersfield Town, taking his tally to 22 goals for the season. McCormack finished the 2013–14 season scoring 29 goals in all competitions for Leeds, and was second to
Danny Ings as Championship Player of the Year. He was named in the Championship
PFA Team of the Year, and also named the LUDO Player of the Year and the LUSC Player of the Year, as well as the
Yorkshire Evening Post Player of the Year. At the club's annual awards ceremony, McCormack won the Fans Player of the Year award, Players Player of the Year award and also the Goal of the Season Award for his strike against
Sheffield Wednesday. On 5 June, Leeds owner
Massimo Cellino said he had rejected a substantial offer for McCormack from
Newcastle United, which that club denied. On 30 June, McCormack was left out of Leeds' pre-season training camp in Italy. On 2 July, BBC Sport reported that McCormack had handed in a transfer request. He was transferred for an £11 million fee, including add-ons, and signed a four-year contract with the option of a fifth. He made his debut on 9 August as Fulham began the season with a 2–1 loss at Ipswich, after which manager
Felix Magath criticised his fitness level. Fifteen days later he scored his first goal for his new team, the only one in a League Cup second round victory at West London rivals
Brentford. On 17 September, he opened his league account for the Whites with a brace in a 5–3 loss at Nottingham Forest. McCormack was sent off for two yellow cards in a 3–3 draw at Wigan Athletic on 1 November. On 21 January 2015, McCormack scored a hat-trick in the first 32 minutes of a 3–2 win over Forest at
Craven Cottage. At the start of April, he scored in four consecutive games, and on the 25th he scored another treble in a 4–3 home win over Middlesbrough. He received the majority of the fans' votes for Fulham's Player of the Season. McCormack retained the club's award the following season, with nearly three-quarters of the votes cast, and was also included in the Championship PFA Team of the Year and beaten only by top scorer
Andre Gray as the league's Player of the Season. He scored 23 times over the season in addition to nine assists. Three days later, he was included in Villa's starting lineup for their
2016–17 Championship opening fixture away to
Sheffield Wednesday, a 1–0 loss. He scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town at
Villa Park on 16 August. On 21 January 2017, Villa manager
Steve Bruce revealed that McCormack had been dropped from the first team squad for "continually missing training", adding that "he is nowhere near fit enough to play and be involved". Twelve days later, he joined fellow Championship team
Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of
the season. After making the loan move, McCormack admitted that he had once missed training when he had been trapped in his home by a faulty electronic gate. He scored on his debut for Forest in a 5–1 loss at
Norwich City on 11 February. McCormack made himself unavailable for "personal issues" in March, as Forest struggled against relegation. McCormack made only two EFL Cup substitute appearances in the early part of the 2017–18 season after returning to Villa. On 29 September 2017, he signed for
A-League club
Melbourne City on loan until January 2018. He made his debut in the season opener on 6 October, starting as his team defeated
Brisbane Roar 2–0 at the
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Fifteen days later, he scored his first goal, a free kick to win a home game against the
Wellington Phoenix. On 28 October, he scored both goals of a 2–0 win at
Adelaide United. After the game, he told the media that he was pleased to be in scoring form again. On 22 November, it was reported that McCormack had been dropped from the Melbourne City squad for being "exceptionally late to training". After returning to Villa, McCormack was still frozen out of the team due to his disputes with Bruce. In May 2018, it was revealed that his annual salary of £2.3 million would have a bonus £1 million added if Villa were promoted, despite him not playing a league match for them that season. On 20 September 2018, McCormack signed a one-year loan deal with A-League club
Central Coast Mariners FC. He played alongside the Olympic sprinting champion
Usain Bolt for Central Coast, and assisted Bolt's first goal in an official football match. On 5 January 2019, McCormack was recalled by Aston Villa; he made just five appearances for the Mariners, scoring once. McCormack was then loaned to Motherwell for the rest of the 2018–19 season, returning to the club after a decade elsewhere. After making four appearances for Motherwell, McCormack returned to Aston Villa in March for treatment of a calf injury that had kept him from playing for a month. Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson said in April that McCormack would not return to Motherwell. He was released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Non-League On 18 September 2020, McCormack signed for
National League club
Aldershot Town. On 24 July 2023, after some time without a club, McCormack signed for English
Northern Premier League (East) side
Liversedge. In January 2024, McCormack departed Liversedge. Whilst at the club, McCormack made two substitute appearances whilst working as the club's director of football. In February 2024, as part of a
publicity stunt, alongside
Charlie Mulgrew and
Wes Hoolahan, McCormack signed for
Central Midlands League North side
Doncaster City. All three players were registered in time to face Dearne & District on 16 February, a match Doncaster City won 3–1. ==International career==