Marc Skinner Departs Manchester United Women After Trophy Success

Marc Skinner’s time in charge of Manchester United Women is over, brought to an abrupt close just a month before the new Women’s Super League season kicks off.

United confirmed on Monday that Skinner has departed his role as head coach by mutual agreement, ending a five-year spell in which he dragged the club into the domestic elite and onto the European stage. He still had a year left on his contract, but both sides have opted to cut ties with London City Lionesses away on 4 September looming on the calendar.

“Marc Skinner has departed his role as head coach of Manchester United Women by mutual agreement,” read the club’s statement. “Marc leaves having made a significant contribution to the continued progress of Manchester United Women. The club places on record its sincere thanks for his professionalism, commitment and dedication throughout his time at United, and wishes him every success in the future.”

Skinner arrived in July 2021 as successor to Casey Stoney, tasked with turning a promising project into a trophy-winning side. He did that, and quickly. United reached four domestic cup finals in as many seasons under his watch, a run that culminated in the club’s first major honour in women’s football: the 2024 FA Cup.

That Wembley success marked the high point of a tenure built on steady, visible progress. The previous campaign had already signalled United’s intent. In 2022-23, Skinner guided the team to a runners-up finish in the WSL, securing Champions League football for the first time in their history and announcing United as genuine contenders rather than hopeful outsiders.

The step into Europe underlined that shift. In the 2025-26 campaign, United advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals, only bowing out to Bayern Munich. The club had wanted nights like that when it re-established the women’s team. Skinner delivered them.

The comedown arrived last season. United slipped to fourth in the WSL, missing out on a return to the Champions League and finishing nine points behind third-placed Chelsea and a full 15 adrift of champions Manchester City. For a club that had tasted both silverware and Europe in quick succession, the gap told its own story.

Now the project resets. United must find a new head coach, reshape a squad that has grown used to competing on multiple fronts, and do it all with the new league campaign almost upon them. Skinner walks away with an FA Cup, a league runners-up finish and a European quarter-final on his record.

The next manager inherits a team that has learned how to reach finals and push for titles. The question is whether they can turn that foundation into a sustained era at the very top.