Outgoing Manchester United Director of Academy Nick Cox took some time to talk with me to discuss his time at the club.
As well as reflecting on bringing 25 academy players through to the senior team since his promotion to his current role in 2019, and the 2022 FA Youth Cup win which featured two players who would go on to score goals in the 2024 FA Cup Final two years later, Nick shared his thoughts on how the academy has operated since the hiring of Ruben Amorim.
There has been much speculation about the 3-4-3 system Amorim plays, but Cox stressed the responsibility of the Academy remains on the development of the adaptability of the players – as it always has.
“Ruben’s trying to win games in a pressurised environment and I’m trying to develop players, adaptable players that not only can debut in the next few weeks, but also can sustain a career for the next 15-20 years,” Cox explained. ‘Or, if you’re working with a really young player, they might still be playing in 2050. So the job of an academy is to give the players a well-rounded and broad education of the game and to be put in environments where they become adaptable and they have the ability to make decisions and recognise patterns on the pitch.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Nick detailed his pride of having followed in the footsteps of men like Jimmy Murphy and Eric Harrison.
“I’ve always kind of delivered the job with the sense of custodianship,” he said. “I’ve always talked to the staff about the importance of custodianship and then our duty and our job is to leave something better than we found it. So, yeah, I guess on the way out, you start to think a little bit more about that, the handing over of the baton and the changing of the guards or however you want to term it.”
“I’m really aware that the experience has been life-changing for me and for my family. You know, I’ve done things I never could have imagined. I’ve experienced some incredible things and I’ve learned a lot.
“So, it’s been incredibly life-changing and I appreciate that. I sometimes feel as if the club has given me more than I ever could have given to it. And then there’s some pride.
“It’s up for other people to decide how good we’ve been in the last 10 years, not for me to decide that. I guess all I can be sure of is that we did left no stone unturned and we worked as hard as we could and every day we try to make good decisions in the best interest of the club and best interest of young people. We made the sort of decisions we think that parents would want us to make for their kids.
You can listen to our exclusive podcast with Nick on our audio podcast, or watch it on our YouTube channel.