Salford City announce Warren Joyce as new development squad coach

Salford City Football Club have appointed former Manchester United Reserves manager Warren Joyce as the coach of their new Development Squad.

Joyce will oversee Salford’s first ever Development Squad this upcoming season, after the success of the clubs academy, Academy 92.

The newly launched Development Squad will act as a bridge between the academy and the first team in the coming seasons.

The 54-year-old spent 8 years with the Manchester United Reserves, seeing the rise of a number of international superstars, including Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard.

As well as his successful spell with the Red Devils, Joyce has also managed Wigan Athletic and Melbourne City, before taking the new role with the Ammies.

Joyce spoke of his excitement at the new challenge with Salford and the opportunity to work with young players from the area.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge, it’s a different challenge and I’m relishing the opportunity to work here.

“Obviously you’re starting off afresh, it’s a different challenge to start from near enough a blank piece of paper. The club, the management and the owners have done fantastically well in the last few years to get to where they’ve got and they don’t want to stop here. Part of it is providing pathways for young players to come through, and local kids to get through to the first team.

“Whether it’s young players or whether it’s men, it’s the same principles, you want people to be self-motivated and maximise what talent they’ve got and make the most of it. It’s rewarding that you can help people and see how they go on and progress in their careers and their lives.

“It’s the next step to the first team so they’ve got to be the hardest working, hungriest group in the club and they’ve got to be ready for a chance when it comes, not knowing when it’s going to come, that they make the most of the opportunity and they turn one game into maybe five games in the first team, so it’s preparing them that they’re ready for that situation.”

The announcement comes at an extremely exciting time for the club as Salford prepare for their first season in the Football League. Joyce will be hoping to develop players with a view to helping out the first team in what will undoubtedly be a tough season in SkyBet League Two.

Salford City Sporting Director, Chris Casper described how important it is to have a coach like Warren Joyce working with Salford’s young players.

“Warren’s got vast experience of developing players, working with young players, he’s got a real good way with them, he understands what it takes not just technically and physically, but mentally as well.

“That’s one of the big things with players coming through now, the mental side of the game; are they stretched? Are they challenged? How can they deal with a hostile game that our first team players will have to deal with? You look at a lot of the games that are going to be coming up in Sky Bet League Two, even last year there was a lot of tough games and they’ve got to be able to handle the pressure, handle the expectation, handle a hostile environment so what Warren will bring is that experience of being able to guide them and help them to be able to develop all of those parts to their game basically.”