Manchester United staff profiles

Written by Simon Austin — March 30, 2018
Pen pics of Manchester United's coaching, science, medicine and analytics staff. To see staff profiles for other clubs, click here.
CARETAKER MANAGER
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Nationality: Norwegian
Legendary player for the club, having scored 91 goals in 235 games and the winner in the 1999 Champions League final. Brought in on loan from Molde as manager after Jose Mourinho was sacked.
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
John Murtough

Nationality: English
Joined in November 2013, having been Head of Elite Performance at Premier League. Previously in charge of the Academy at Everton. Role similar to that of a Sporting Director.
ASSISTANTS
INTERIM ASSISTANT
Mike Phelan

Nationality: English
Played at United under Sir Alex Ferguson and then worked for him for 12 years during the most successful period in the club's history. Was the Scot's first-team coach from 2001 and then assistant from 2008 to 2013. Brought in on an interim basis from Central Coast Mariners, where he's the Sporting Director.
INTERIM ASSISTANT
Mark Demsey

Nationality: English
Made two appearances as a player for United under Ron Atkinson. Assisted Solskjaer at Cardiff City in 2014 and then at Molde. Has managerial experience himself, with Haugesund, Djurgarden, Start and Kongsvinger.
FIRST TEAM COACH
Michael Carrick

Nationality: English
Retired at the end of the season after 12 years as a United player. Won five Premier League titles and the Champions League. Holds the Uefa Pro Licence and Mourinho sees him as an important link with the players.
FIRST TEAM COACH
Kieran McKenna

Nationality: Northern Ireland
Appointed at the end of 2017/18 after Mourinho reshuffled his backroom team following the exit of Rui Faria. Joined from Spurs in August 2016 to coach the U18s and has built a good reputation.
GOALKEEPER COACH
Emilio Alvarez

Nationality: Spanish
Appointed in July 2016, mainly because of his close relationship with United keeper David de Gea. Helped bring through the Spain international from the age of 18 at Atletico Madrid.
MEDICAL & SPORTS SCIENCE
HEAD OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Richard Hawkins

Nationality: English
Joined United in 2008, having been Head of Sports Science at the Football Association and West Brom. In charge of United's physiology testing lab.
HEAD OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE
Steve McNally

Nationality: English
Was medic at Liverpool's Academy for eight years before joining United in July 2006. Publicly praised for his work by Sir Alex Ferguson on many occasions.
HEAD OF RECOVERY & REGENERATION
Robin Thorpe

Nationality: English
Joined United in November 2009 as a sports science researcher before being promoted to this newly-created position. Worked with Mexico at the 2018 World Cup.
HEAD OF STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
Gary Walker

Nationality: English
Arrived from the English Institute of Sport in March 2008. Has been Head of S&C since July 2010.
SENIOR SPORTS SCIENTIST
David Kelly

Nationality: English
At Barnsley and Darlington before joining United in 2010. Monitors training loads using tools such as GPS.
HEAD PHYSIO
Richard Merron

Nationality: English
Stepped up from Academy to swap places with Neil Hough, who had held the position since 2014.
PHYSIO
Jonny Picot

Nationality: English
Stepped up from Academy to first team with Richard Merron at the start of the 2017/18 season.
PHYSIO
John Davin

Nationality: English
A one-club man, having been at United for more than 20 years.
SPORTS SCIENCE & FITNESS
Paolo Gaudino

Nationality: Italian
Studied for a PhD at Liverpool John Moore's University before getting a job at United in July 2012. Praised by Matteo Darmian for helping him settle into the club.
SPORTS THERAPIST
Rod Thornley

Nationality: English
Brother of Ben, the former United winger. With United since 2000.
SOFT TISSUE THERAPIST
Garry Armer

Nationality: English
At United since July 2002, having previously held the same role at arch rivals Liverpool.
ANALYSTS
HEAD OF FIRST TEAM ANALYSIS
Paul Brand

Nationality: Scottish
Background is in stats and coding: a major growth area in professional football. Was with Blackburn Rovers before joining United in 2013.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Luke Lazenby

Nationality: English
Promoted from U18s to first team in December 2018. Joined United from Brentford in March 2016.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Tom Green

Nationality: English
At Derby County for more than three years, latterly as opposition analyst, before joining in December 2017.
ASSISTANT PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Adam Warburton

Nationality: English
Joined from Wigan in September 2016 as Man Utd revamped their analytics department.
ASSISTANT PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Rob Page

Nationality: English
Appointed in February 2018. Previous experience with Blackburn and Bournemouth.