Rene Meulensteen has been appointed Stockport County's director of football methodology, marking a return to English football for Sir Alex Ferguson's former Manchester United first-team coach, who helped the Scot win seven major trophies at Old Trafford.
The 62-year-old Dutchman has been tasked with building an "elite football department" at the League One club, working alongside Stockport's first-team staff and academy in the newly created role.
Meulensteen was Fulham's head coach for three months during the 2013-14 season, his last job in English football before spending more than a decade abroad. He went on to manage Israel's Maccabi Haifa and India's Kerala Blasters, and took international coaching roles with Australia and Iraq.
His appointment at Stockport is a reminder of the trusted backroom staff Ferguson built during his 26-year reign at Old Trafford, coaches and assistants who helped the club win 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues and a host of domestic honours.
Carlos Queiroz
The Portuguese coach, widely regarded as Ferguson's most influential assistant, served two spells at Manchester United between 2002-03 and 2004-08, either side of a year as Real Madrid manager. He helped modernise United's tactical approach and played a key role in the side that won back-to-back Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League.
After leaving Manchester in 2008, Queiroz managed Portugal at the 2010 World Cup before two successful spells with Iran, leading them to three consecutive World Cups. He also coached Colombia, Egypt, Qatar and Oman before being named Ghana head coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Taking charge just two months before the tournament, the 73-year-old guided the Black Stars to the knockout stages after a goalless draw with England, before losing in the round of 16 against Colombia. He is waiting for his next opportunity after stepping down following Ghana's World Cup exit.
Mike Phelan
The former Manchester United defender became one of Ferguson's closest confidants during his second spell at Old Trafford, serving as assistant manager from 2008 until Ferguson's retirement in 2013, having first joined as a coach in 2001. Phelan was in the dugout as the club added five Premier League titles and a Champions League to its trophy cabinet.
He initially stayed on under David Moyes before leaving later that year, then managed Hull City during the 2016-17 season but was sacked after three months with the club bottom of the Premier League. Phelan also worked as assistant manager at Central Coast Mariners in Australia before returning to Manchester United in 2018 as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's assistant, departing for a second time in 2022.
The 63-year-old is currently working as a football consultant and ambassador, with no full-time position in the game.
Brian Kidd
Kidd was one of Ferguson's important early lieutenants, serving as assistant manager from 1991 to 1998. A former United player who had been part of the club's 1968 European Cup-winning side, he helped oversee the emergence of the Class of '92, including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.
After leaving Old Trafford in 1998, Kidd managed Blackburn Rovers before coaching roles with Leeds United, England, Sheffield United and Portsmouth, then joined Manchester City's staff in 2009. As assistant manager under Roberto Mancini and later Manuel Pellegrini, he helped City win the Premier League in 2012 and 2014.
Now 72, Kidd left City in 2024 after 15 years at the club and has since stepped away from full-time coaching.
Steve McClaren
McClaren's spell as Ferguson's No 2 between 1999 and 2001 earned him his first managerial job at Middlesbrough, where he won the League Cup and reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final before being appointed England manager, succeeding Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The now 65-year-old was sacked 16 months later after failing to qualify England for the 2008 European Championship, and remains the second-shortest serving England manager in history behind Sam Allardyce, who lasted 67 days.
McClaren rebuilt his reputation by winning the Eredivisie title with FC Twente and later managed Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Derby, Newcastle and Queens Park Rangers. In 2022 he returned to Manchester United as Erik ten Hag's assistant, before leaving to become Jamaica head coach in 2024.
Like Meulensteen, McClaren is now back in English football, having been appointed Rotherham United's head of football three months ago. The role, created after Rotherham's relegation to League Two last season, sees him provide strategic leadership across the club's football operations, overseeing recruitment and long-term planning.
Archie Knox
Knox, who previously worked with Ferguson at Aberdeen, helped lay the foundations for success at Manchester United between 1986 and 1991, acting as the manager's first true right-hand man at Old Trafford during a difficult transition period before Ferguson became the most decorated manager in history.
After leaving United in 1991, Knox followed former Rangers and Scotland manager Walter Smith into roles at Ibrox, Everton and the Scottish national team. He briefly returned to Aberdeen as assistant manager before spells at Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Motherwell and Dundee.
Now 79 and retired from full-time coaching, Knox has largely stepped away from the public spotlight and is remembered as one of Ferguson's most important early allies.
Eric Harrison
Harrison was never Ferguson's direct No 2, but few had a greater influence on Manchester United during the club's glory years. The former Manchester City player joined United as youth team coach in 1981 and remained after Ferguson's arrival in 1986, becoming one of his most trusted figures behind the scenes.
Harrison was the driving force behind the Class of '92, nurturing Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil, providing Ferguson with the core group of players who dominated English football through the 1990s and early 2000s.
After stepping away from full-time coaching at United in the late 1990s, Harrison worked as a consultant and coach educator before retiring from football. He was diagnosed with dementia and died in February 2019 at the age of 81. Ferguson described him as "one of the greatest coaches of our time."
