Manchester United Women’s New Coach: Owners’ Message Has Always Been ‘We Want to Invest’

Manchester United Women’s new head coach Eva Olid said the message from the club’s owners has always been, “we want to invest.” The 41-year-old Spanish coach revealed at her first press conference that she had brief but clear conversations with club executives and received the commitment that the goal is not only to develop, but also to win.

“They want to win, not just develop young players.”

Olid replaces Marc Skinner, who left Manchester United Women by mutual agreement with the club last month after five years in charge. Skinner had repeatedly called for greater investment in the team and eventually departed due to differences over the club’s new direction. Manchester United said they are focused on a sustainable investment model for recruitment and developing young players.

Olid said at the press conference: “In my first few days I had short conversations with everyone. The message has always been that we want to invest, but it is not only about players. Having the right staff and the right coaches is also important, it is not just about the players. The message is that they want to win, not that right now they only want to develop players. No, they want to win. I am here to achieve that, but with a strong identity.”

“The club wants to play attractive attacking football.”

The alignment between the coach and the club on football style was also a key factor in her decision to join. Olid said: “The club wants to play attractive football, attacking football, brave football. We know being brave can sometimes bring risks, but the club supports me and takes that risk with me. They signed me for this. I have to stay true to that and cannot change now, because that is the reason they appointed me.”

Manchester United have signed four players this summer: defender Andrea Medina, reserve goalkeeper Janina Leitzig, Swedish winger Monica Zsúri-Balla, and Mexican defender Rebecca Bernal. The latter two were announced in the final week of the transfer window, and Bernal will be available to play against London City Lionesses on Friday.

“There are also recruitment plans for January.”

Olid confirmed that no more players will join during this transfer window, but there are plans for January additions. She said she needs players with different profiles from those under Skinner: “This puts us in a situation where we have very little reaction time. I need to sign the players I truly need in January based on my style and my way of playing.”

Olid has only three weeks of pre-season preparation time to communicate her “attacking football” philosophy to players and staff. Amid many changes, the period is not sufficient, so she has had to focus on the most important elements to prepare the team. When asked about the target for this season, she repeated one sentence: “We want to win every match.”

With several important players leaving and the team shifting its focus toward younger players, there are concerns that Manchester United could drop out of the top group this season. Time will tell whether Olid can build the attacking system she wants within a limited period.