Man Utd appoint Neil Wood as manager of U23s with Quinton Fortune as assistant

Manchester United have announced Neil Wood will be their new Under 23s manager.

Wood, a former United youth team player, will be assisted in his new role by Quinton Fortune, who played 126 times for the Old Trafford side during his playing career.

United's head of academy Nicky Butt will be given increased involvement in the Under 23's coaching programme.

Nicky Butt said: 'The academy is completely focused on producing well-rounded players for our first team and we believe that this new structure provides the perfect platform to achieve this aim.

'Myself, Neil and Quinton have long-standing connections with Manchester United and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our roles that we will pass on to the young players.

'It is such an exciting time for the academy with Ole as first-team manager, who truly believes in the development of homegrown talent.

'It was a great source of pride that three academy graduates made their first-team debuts last season. As a group, we will now look to build on this success.'

Neil Wood added: 'It is a real honour to be appointed as lead coach for the Under 23s, I have learnt a lot about this age group over the last few seasons.

'This club has been a major part of my life since I joined the Academy in 1999 and I am delighted to continue that relationship in this role.

'The academy has a fantastic record of developing players ready to play for Manchester United and the opportunity to have a role in continuing that tradition is extremely exciting.'

Quinton Fortune expressed his happiness at the new role and said: 'I am delighted to return to the club in this new role.

'As a former player, I know exactly what it takes and also what it means to play for Manchester United. I'll be passing on all of this experience to our young players as we look to define their individual development pathways.

'I have a great relationship with Ole, whom I also worked with at Cardiff when I was assistant manager of their Under 21s, and I look forward to working with him again alongside Nicky and Neil.

'We will all work together in order to achieve the ultimate aim of producing players capable of performing in Manchester United's first team.'