New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has promised change at the club, and that means there is no place for Mike Phelan in the Dutchman's backroom staff.
Phelan is a very well respected figure at United, and partnered Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline before being brought back to the club by Ole Gunner Solskjaer in 2019. But Ten Hag is enforcing mass change at United, as he looks to succeed where others have failed with a new strategy.
That means that the majority of staff brought in by Phelan and Ralf Rangnick will leave Old Trafford this summer, with only two members staying on. However, although his time in the dugout is coming to an end, he may be handed a role elsewhere.
Ten Hag has been meeting and greeting his new colleagues at United this week, and also saying goodbye to those he is ready to replace as he begins his project. The three men brought in by interim manager Rangnick will all leave, with first-team coaches Chris Armas and Ewan Sharp following psychologist Sascha Lense out the door.
Goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis and set-piece specialist Eric Ramsay have kept their place, and Phelan may be offered a new role elsewhere, depending on how discussions go. United confirmed on Monday that Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren will be Ten Hag's new assistants, with one more first-team coach expected to arrive.
And the clear-out won't stop there, as multiple first-team stars are leaving United this summer. And Ten Hag is expected to be given a healthy budget to bring new stars in and leave his mark on the squad.
Ten Hag has made a huge promise as he vowed to break Manchester City and Liverpool ’s recent dominance in English football. However, the Dutchman admitted it will take time, and for now finishing in the top four is his primary goal.
"I said this is the project, to bring Man United back on top, but also we have to accept the current situation we are in," Ten Hag said. "First of all, Man United belong in the Champions League, so that will be the first target."
Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba are all notable members of the first-team squad that are on their way out, with question marks raised over some others. So it will be a very different dressing room at United, as well as a refreshed coaching team.
Rangnick has already taken on a consultancy role at the club, as well as agreeing to become manager of the Austrian national team. And it's thought that Phelan may be offered a role in the United hierarchy also.
Phelan may not have been able to assist Solskjaer or Rangnick in turning United's form around, but he is vastly experienced at the club. And after being Ferguson's no.2, he knows what it takes to win at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag is excited to get going, although he has called for time despite assurances that United will be back challenging again. Assuming United don't make a shock charge for the title next season, it will mark a decade without Premier League success.
