Stephen Torpey has revealed his exciting plans for Manchester United’s youth ranks following his appointment as head of the academy.
Torpey joins United
In September, United officially announced that Torpey had been appointed to the role, succeeding Nick Cox, who departed to take up a new position at Everton.
United lured Torpey away from Premier League rivals Brentford, where he earned a stellar reputation for rebuilding the club’s youth structure, including the relaunch of their academy programme from Under-9s to Under-18s.
Torpey has also worked in various academy coaching roles at Manchester City and at the foundation phase with Liverpool.
He worked closely with Jason Wilcox during his time at the Etihad.
In his first sit-down with United media, Torpey revealed his immense pride at becoming head of the academy and playing his part in advancing the club’s rich tradition of nurturing talent.
He also revealed what he plans to do for the academy during his tenure.
Torpey’s United vision
Asked what the future of United’s academy looks like under him, Torpey answered, “It’s still early days for me, but ultimately we’ve got to sustain everything that’s happened in the past and sustain the high level of delivery and development of our young players. And this is an institution. This is world renowned. It’s almost that privilege and that pinch yourself moment to be here, sat here talking about this.”
“But at the same time, we’ve got to take all these things from the historic upbringing and the way that Manchester United is and what it represents, take all those amazing things, enhance them further if we can, and do more of them in terms of our welcoming nature for the young players.”
“But also looking at things that are going to make us even better, you know, and how can we make them better? It goes back to that critical thinking again and asking the right questions and developing certain areas.”
He continued, “The most important thing is we’ve got a first-team environment right now that is world class. And we’ve got to do the same. It’s very good where we are right now. And it’s served us well, but we’ve also got to make something that is world class, innovative and gives us the spaces and the technology that’s going to allow us to do an even better job in the modern era.”
“Then just looking at our processes from a development point of view and trying to take all that experience that we talked about before, those years of different places.”
“The innovation for us right now is in facilities first and foremost. But we’ve got to understand what it is we want to do in the future, why we want to do it. We’ve got some fantastic staff. We’ve got to make sure that they’re not operating with their hands tied behind the back in the modern development landscape.”
“So that’s important for us now, to look at that, to evaluate and then execute on a fantastic new facility that’s going to help us sustain our work for the long term and for the next 10, 15, 20 years’ worth of youth development at this football club.”
“Hopefully that will help us support more players into the into Manchester United’s first team.”
Torpey further explained, “I know this is Manchester United, we’ve done amazing things in youth, but I feel it’s my duty now to continue that. You know, I’ve heard that my predecessor, Nick [Cox], talk about carrying on the baton, and I believe in that.”
“I’ve been very fortunate to have the tours around Old Trafford and Littleton Road and The Cliff and realise the heritage, you know, and I got to thank [club historian] Jason Leach for taking me around and showing me the ropes on that.”
“What it made me realise was this club’s been built on innovation and a real belief in youth and a bravery to implement youth and look after the club really by utilising the youth that we had and that privilege that I feel I’ve got now.”
“That pressure just comes with that sustainability of that and creating young players that are ready for the first team. You know, we don’t want it to be a token gesture, that we have players in our first team because we want to keep a tradition going.”
“We want to have players that are ready, that can make impact, that can make our first team better, and most importantly, our fans can be proud of.”
“You know, I genuinely believe that. I’ve been very fortunate now to watch players I’ve worked with over the years go on and represent their country, represent the club, win the best trophies. And there’s no greater feeling than one of your own stepping out.”
Torpey noted that he is not one to shy away from pressure, clarifying that he embraces it.
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