Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him in charge of the Women’s Super League side for the 2023-24 season.
The 50-year-old was appointed in May 2020, succeeding Nick Cushing, and went on to oversee City winning a delayed FA Cup final in November of that year and the League Cup in March 2022. They were also FA Cup runners-up in 2021-22.
Having finished second and then third in the WSL in the previous two seasons, the team missed out on the Champions League spots in 2022-23 with a fourth-placed finish.
At the start of the campaign they were knocked out in the qualifying rounds of the European competition for a second successive year.
After seeing the likes of Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Caroline Weir leave the club last summer, City lost their first two league games, then bounced back by going unbeaten in the next 14, winning 12, before finishing with three defeats and three victories across their final six matches.
Taylor, whose tenure has featured 79 wins from 109 games in all competitions to date, said: “I’m very happy to have signed a new deal with the club – it feels great to have gotten it over the line.
“I’m very happy to be able to commit to City for another season, and 2023-24 is one that I’m so excited about.
“We have been in a transitional period over the past 12 months, and the women’s game has changed so much during my three years in charge.
I know that there is pressure on us to succeed, but I enjoy that – I have always challenged myself throughout my career and that’s now more important than ever as a coach— Gareth Taylor
“We were fortunate to win trophies in each of my first two seasons, and although we haven’t been successful on that front this past year, the pride I’ve taken has come in different forms.
“I’ve really felt that it has been so enjoyable in terms of where the team is at, where I think that they can go and what they can achieve for this football club.
“I know that there is pressure on us to succeed, but I enjoy that – I have always challenged myself throughout my career and that’s now more important than ever as a coach.
“I really want to try and squeeze every single last drop out of what I feel I’m able to do personally, and I believe that this group of players have the ability to turn those nearly moments into actual moments with the support of myself and the staff to get us to the next level.”
Managing director Gavin Makel said: “We’re very pleased to have Gareth commit himself to the club for another year.
“Together, we are building an exciting team full of talented players, both young and experienced, all with a shared vision of beautiful football and on-pitch success.
“Gareth is someone who embraces the City Football Group methodology in its entirety, and it has been really pleasing to see him grow as a coach over the past three years.
“Nils (Nielsen, the team’s director of football) and I are very much looking forward to continuing our work with him next season alongside this amazing group of players, with the future being incredibly bright for Manchester City.”
