Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has signed a contract extension with the Women’s Super League club, Telegraph sport he understands.
Skinner’s previous contract was due to expire at the end of the season, but the 41-year-old, whose team suspended his contract first women’s FA Cup last Sundaywill remain in position after positive negotiations with the club.
The length of Skinner’s extended contract has not yet been disclosed, but it is understood that Skinner signed his extension ahead of last Sunday’s cup final victory at Wembley, with both parties ready and willing to commit regardless of the result against Tottenham. Hotspur.
After what sources describe as very constructive conversations throughout the 2023-24 season, the terms of Skinner’s extension have been signed off by members of the Glazer family as well as the Ineos hierarchy, who believe the women’s team can add more titles in the coming years. years.
The news comes just days after Skinner and his team oversaw the club lifting the first major women’s trophy in its history with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Tottenham. It was the second year in a row that his team reached the cup final.
The former Birmingham City and Orlando Pride manager also led United to second place in the WSL last season, their best pyramid finish to date, but this season they have slipped to fifth in the table, out of contention for A Europe, with one game left in the campaign, against Emma Hayes’ title-chasing Chelsea on Saturday at Old Trafford.
It is understood Skinner’s assistant manager Carl Green will also extend his stay alongside him. Green previously worked alongside Skinner in Birmingham and Orlando.
Skinner has been in charge of United since July 2021, having replaced former England captain Casey Stoney following his resignation two months earlier, and he initially signed a two-year contract until 2023 with the option of a further year. Earlier this season, some traveling fans called for Skinner to leave following a defeat at Stamford Bridge, but it is understood that the club’s senior management remained continually positive about the team’s performance.
The Leigh Sports Village-based team qualified for European football for the first time in their history last season, but were eliminated in the qualifying rounds by Paris St-Germain after obtaining the toughest draw possible at that stage of the competition. . . Injuries, including the season-ending knee injury suffered by Gabby George last October, have hampered the team this season, but the club are confident they can reach more finals and achieve more success with the processes being implemented at the club for the future.
Following the acquisition of Football Matters by Ineos, United’s women’s team is currently in a period of transition as the club awaits the potential appointment of Dan Ashworth as director of football.
Matt Johnson has been appointed as the new head of women’s football on an interim basis for a six-month period since the club’s founding, where he has been working as director of operations. It remains unclear what off-field model the club will adopt after this summer’s off-season.