Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United assistant coach Mike Phelan to depart the club in the summer along with other first-team backroom staff
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United assistant coach Mike Phelan and three other members of the first-team backroom staff will depart the club in the summer, as the English side looks to welcome Erik ten Hag as the new permanent manager.
Ralf Rangnick’s tenure as interim boss ended with the season’s game of the season against Crystal Palace over the weekend. The German will now give way to ten Hag to take charge of the team, who joins the Manchester side from Ajax Amsterdam.
The Dutchman is expected to make wholesale changes to the squad, and could also decide on the coaching staff to help him out in his new job at Old Trafford. However, this could mark the end of the road for Phelan, who has a long-standing association with the Red Devils.
Before working with Rangnick as part of his coaching staff, Phelan was a player and assistant manager under Sir Alex Ferguson. The assistant coach left the club after the Scot’s retirement in 2013 but returned in 2019 to take the same assistant position to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Coaching staff reshuffle at Old Trafford
Phelan will now be departing the club for a second time, although the 59-year-old may still be associated with the club in some capacity after discussions with United. He is hugely respected within the club, although he will not be in the dugout alongside ten Hag.
Aside from Phelan, first-team coaches Chris Armas, Ewan Sharp, and psychologist Sascha Lense will bid farewell to Old Trafford – the trio was brought in by Rangnick during his tenure. However, goalkeeper coach Richard Hartis and set-piece specialist Eric Ramsay are expected to stay on.
Rangnick and his coaching staff barely tasted any success during their time at the club, with the Manchester side crashing out of the FA Cup and Champions League to end the campaign without any trophies. By finishing sixth in the Premier League, they also failed to qualify for next season’s UCL.
ten Hag is expected to usher in a new era at Old Trafford, with major changes being made inside the club. The coaching staff could be impacted as part of the reshuffle as well, with the ex-Ajax man looking to employ people he is comfortable working with at his new job.
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United confirmed that Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren will be joining the new manager as his assistants, with the expectation that a new first-team coach will also join the staff in the coming weeks. It remains to be seen if there is a change of heart and Phelan is retained.
The coach has a lot of experience working with the Red Devils and could help ten Hag settle in quicker. Alongside McClaren, who also worked at the club alongside Sir Alex during the treble-winning campaign, Phelan could provide the new permanent boss with insights about the English giants to help the Dutchman become successful.
