I could be a very big summer at Manchester United. The club has parted ways with reserve team boss Ricky Sbragia to become the first victim of a summer shake-up at Old Trafford after an announcement by the manager Ole Gunnar that there will be an overhaul at the club.
The former Sunderland manager has been shown the door by United with speculation mounting that Warren Joyce, reserve team manager for eight years until 2016 when he took charge at Wigan, could be set for a return to Trafford.
Joyce has just left Australian club Melbourne City owned by Manchester City after a disappointing season in which they finished fifth and failed to reach the Asian Champions League.
Sbragia’s departure signals a significant summer of change at the club at all levels after United’s age-group teams continued to record a fall behind their traditional rivals prompting a review of their set-up.
Despite beating Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup, United was then beaten by Brighton in the next round while Manchester City and eventual winners Liverpool went on to win the trophy.
Scotsman Sbragia, 62, was in his second spell at United after helping bring on stars like Darren Fletcher and Kieran Richardson when he was in the reserve team role between 2002-2005 before leaving to become the first-team coach under Sam Allardyce at Bolton.
After his stint at the Stadium of Light, Sbragia managed Scotland’s U-17, 19 and 21 teams until he returned to United in 2017.
But he had a tough time last season with fans calling for him to be replaced after the U-23s finished sixth in League Two.