Man Utd appoint Neil Wood and Quinton Fortune as U23 coaches and give Nicky Butt bigger role
Thursday 4 July 2019 15:25, UK
Manchester United have appointed former players Neil Wood and Quinton Fortune as U23 coaches and given Nicky Butt a bigger role.
After ex-Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia departed in May, United have now restructured the academy coaching set-up, with Wood lead coach and Fortune as assistant.
Butt, head of academy, will be undertaking increased involvement in the team's overall programme.
Wood, 36, a former United youth-team player, returned as an academy coach in 2014 after impressing in a similar role at Aston Villa and has coached across the U16s, U18s and U23s during his time at the club.
He said: "It is a real honour. I have learnt a lot about this age group over the last few seasons. This club has been a major part of my life since I joined in 1999 and I am delighted to continue that relationship.
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"The Academy has a fantastic record of developing players ready to play for Manchester United and the opportunity to have a role in continuing that tradition is extremely exciting."
Former South African international Fortune, who made 126 appearances for United, won the Premier League alongside Butt in 2002/03 and recently completed his UEFA A Licence.
He said: "As a former player, I know exactly what it takes and what it means to play for Manchester United. I'll be passing on all of this experience to our young players."
Butt, who played almost 400 times for United in all competitions, said: "The Academy is completely focused on producing well-rounded players for our first team and we believe this new structure provides the perfect platform to achieve this.
"It was a great source of pride that three Academy graduates made their first-team debuts last season and we will look to build on this success."
United have already signed 21-year-olds Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James for a combined £65m as part of their new commitment to developing young players, while former players Rio Ferdinand and Darren Fletcher have held talks over a technical director role at the club.
