Nicky Butt has continued his academy revolution at Manchester United with the appointment of Kieran McKenna as under-18 manager.
Paul McGuiness was sacked by the club in the latter half of last season after over 20 years at Man United, and Tommy Martin has been standing in ever since.
Martin, usually a coach with the under-23s and Warren Joyce, will return to his previous role. McKenna, 30, is a brilliant appointment and the latest in a succession of new arrivals to the coaching set-up in United's academy, undergoing a speedy modernisation since Nicky Butt took over in February 2015.
Manchester United appoint McKenna as under-18 manager
The former-Tottenham Hotspur coach said it's been an "excellent" start at the club he supported as a child. Reports have been circling about McKenna's appointment for a few days and he confirmed that he's been at the club for "about a week now," and has been "getting to know the staff, the players, and everyone in the building."
"Everyone has been very welcoming," McKenna told MUTV ahead of his first match in charge on Sunday, a lunchtime kick-off against Middlesbrough in the under-18 Premier League. "It helps that I knew quite a few of the staff already," he added.
Boyhood United fan replaces sacked McGuiness
"I feel I've slotted in very quickly and the work with the boys on the grass had all gone extremely well, so it's been very smooth so far," McKenna said.
McKenna said that "there is no bigger move you can make," than Manchester United and "it's a dream come true really," because he "was a massive United fan."
In fact, McKenna told MUTV that "my dad brought me over to my first game in the 1994 season to see them lift the Premier League trophy."
United's under-18s had a poor 2015/16 season, seeing McGuiness sacked, as they ended up in Division Three come the play-off stages of the under-18 Premier League. With a very good squad, bolstered by new signings such as Tahith Chong, Joshua Bohui, and Nishan Burkart, United should be hoping for a successful season.