Summary
Assistant managers are crucial to a coach's success and play a significant behind-the-scenes role in clubs' achievements.
Certain Premier League assistants have diverse experiences, ranging from managing youth teams to top-flight clubs.
From Jason Tindall to Albert Stuivenberg, here are the top ten assistant managers in the Premier League right now.
Behind every great football manager is a coaching team working day and night to support the main man, who will ultimately grab the headlines. The success of a head coach can be hugely dependent on who they have working with them, and it's integral that they delegate responsibility to a trusted right-hand man.
Assistant managers aren't in the spotlight, but their work is pivotal to contributing to a club's success. While some use their experience in these roles to build their CV with a view to being the primary figure in the dugout, others devote their entire coaching careers to being a number two, often following one manager around from club to club.
There have been numerous exceptional assistant managers in football history, and although none of the current crop of Premier League deputy head coaches fit into this bracket, there is a lot of talent in this role throughout the English top flight.
With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT as identified the ten best assistant managers in the Premier League right now.
Ranking Factors:
Longevity - have they enjoyed a sustained coaching career across multiple years/clubs.
Faith - If they've assisted the same number one at various clubs it's probably a good sign.
Managerial role - Having a role as a manager themselves somewhere.
General CV - The calibre of club they have been at throughout their career.
10 Rui Pedro Silva
Nottingham Forest
Rui Pedro Silva
A staple of Nuno Espirito Santo's backroom staff wherever the Portuguese has been, Rui Pedro Silva accompanied the former Tottenham boss at Rio Ave, Valencia, Porto and Wolverhampton Wanderers, all before their current spell together at Nottingham Forest. The only Espirito Santo stint that Pedro Silva wasn't part of was his time at Spurs, and that's because the number two had become a number one at Primeira Liga side Famalicao.
Although his time in the dugout in the Portuguese top flight wasn't overwhelmingly positive and was relatively short-lived, he's proven himself as an apt assistant head coach in several successful teams under Espirito Santo's stewardship. Given the wealth of experience he's garnered on the sidelines, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him given another opportunity as a manager in the near future.
9 Carlos Fernandes
Manchester United
carlos-fernandes
Following Ruben Amorim to Manchester United, Carlos Fernandes has taken the unusual path of pursuing purely a coaching career. Never a player at any level, he caught the eye of Amorim when he was an assistant manager for various youth teams at Benfica.
Appointed as the new United boss' deputy in Amorim's first managerial job at Casa Pia, the young coach was given this role at the age of just 23. Fernandes has been alongside the former Sporting boss at every club he's been at, and is still just 30.
Understood to be supremely talented in the coaching realm, the Portuguese is in his infancy years in the industry, and is almost certain to be offered managerial jobs in the future if Amorim's upward trajectory continues.
8 Roberto Vitiello
Chelsea
Roberto Vitiello and Enzo Maresca stood next to each other in Chelsea training
Those who are within the Pep Guardiola school of thought tend to promise a lot in the coaching realm, and Roberto Vitiello falls into this category, following the Spaniard's prodigy Enzo Maresca throughout his short managerial career thus far. Only retiring from playing in 2020, Vitiello immediately took up coaching, beginning in the Fiorentina set-up.
In this stint in Florence, the Italian did enough to convince Maresca to hire him at Parma as his number two, and then again at both Leicester City and now Chelsea. Already establishing himself as the definitive assistant to one of the brightest new managers on the scene, it would be no surprise to see Vitiello as a number one in the future, with his footballing ideas said to closely align with the 'juego de position' philosphy deployed by Guardiola.
7 Jason Tindall
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe Jason Tindall
Lamented for what has been perceived as attention-grabbing antics, Jason Tindall's eagerness to be in the spotlight might deflect from the fact that he's enjoyed a fruitful career as Eddie Howe's assistant. The Englishman has been Howe's trusted right-hand man throughout the Newcastle boss' managerial exploits, following his superior for every step of the way.
Howe and Tindall formed an impressive partnership, and were both instrumental to Bournemouth's meteoric rise from the pits of League Two to the bright lights of the Premier League. The latter also had a short spell as the Cherries' manager after Howe left, although he lasted just six months.
At St James' Park, Tindall has continued his positive work with his football partner, playing a key role in the Magpies' top four finish in the 2022/23 season.
6 Claus Norgaard
Brentford
Claus Norgaard and Thomas Frank
If there's any club in the Premier League where coaching is evidently absolutely imperative to the club's success, it's Brentford. The quality of those instructing the players at the Gtech Community Stadium has allowed the Bees to consistently over-perform what you'd expect from them with the squad at their disposal.
Thomas Frank's trusted lieutenant, Claus Norgaard, is a significant part of this. The Dane has claimed that he is given specific responsibilities around focusing on setting up Brentford's defence, and he has done so effectively since arriving in West London in 2022.
Prior to undertaking the role with Frank, Norgaard was the number one for several Denmark youth teams, and enjoyed a spell as manager of Danish top flight side Sonderjyske back in 2017-18.
5 Pako Ayestaran
Aston Villa
Pako Ayestaran and Eddie Howe
The first on this list to have enjoyed managerial roles at several clubs, Pako Ayestaran has taken charge of Mexican sides Tecos, Santos Laguna, Pachuca and Tondela, Spanish clubs Valencia and Las Palmas, and Israeli outfit Maccabi Tel Aviv. The majority of these spells in the dugout weren't overly noteworthy or successful, aside from his stint in Tel Aviv, where he led Maccabi to the first ever treble in Israeli football.
This prominent CV indicates that Ayestaran certainly possesses impressive coaching acumen, and that's reflected in him being hired for multiple assistant roles. Rafa Benitez' deputy at four different clubs, including Liverpool, the Spaniard was appointed as Unai Emery's aide at Aston Villa in 2022, contributing to the West Midlanders' recent success.
4 Spike Hulshoff
Liverpool
Spike Hulshoff and Arne Slot Liverpool
Joining Liverpool this summer alongside Arne Slot, Spike Hulshoff has been entrusted by the new Reds head coach to play an intense and hands-on role in the Merseysiders' pursuit of major silverware. Described as "very clear and tactically strong" by Virgil van Dijk, who also revealed that the assistant regularly leads training sessions, Hulshoff's part in Slot's rise to prominence is said to have been vitally important.
Having shadowed Slot at SC Cambur and Feyenoord, and acted as Ronald Koeman's deputy for the Netherlands, the assistant coach has been with the north-west club's manager throughout the formative years of his coaching career. Like Howe and Tindall, the pair are understood to be an inseparable duo that work in tandem wherever they go, which is certainly a good indictment of Hulshoff's capabilities.
3 Pablo Sanz
West Ham
Pablo Sanz West Ham
Another loyal lieutenant to one man, Pablo Sanz has been by Julen Lopetegui's side throughout the maligned manager's career. Naturally, this means that Sanz' boasts an illustrious CV with regard to the clubs he's worked at.
Spells at Real Madrid, Sevilla, Wolves and now West Ham, as well as with the Spanish national team, came before a stint as Porto assistant manager. Lopetegui has reportedly been insistent on Sanz following him from place to place, and the fact that he's been able to maintain this faith from his compatriot, including at Real Madrid and with Spain, speaks volumes about his credentials as a coach.
2 Albert Stuivenberg
Arsenal
Arsenal assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg
Similarly to Brentford, Arsenal appear to be one of the most well coached teams in the Premier League. The Gunners' set-piece effectiveness, relentless pressing and distinctive patterns of play in the final third all point to an incredibly well set-up, well-drilled and coherent unit.
Mikel Arteta's entire backroom staff deserve plaudits for this, and none more so than the second in command, Albert Stuivenberg. Named as one of the best assistant managers in world football this year, 'Airpod Albert' has been at the centre of Arsenal's elevation from mid-table mediocrity to perennial title challengers, and was actively sought out by Arteta when the Spaniard was granted his first managerial role back in 2019.
Previously Louis Van Gaal's assistant at Manchester United, and Ryan Giggs' with Wales, Stuivenberg also enjoyed a brief managerial stint at Genk in 2017.
1 Juanma Lillo
Manchester City
Juanma Lillo looks on
Guardiola's coaching disciples have famously gone onto establish themselves as managers in their own right, with the likes of Arteta and Maresca thriving at Arsenal and Chelsea respectively. Thus, fulfilling a role as Guardiola's inferior is usually a positive indictment of your coaching quality, with the legendary gaffer only employing the very best in the field.
Current Manchester City number two, Juanma Lillo, actually replaced Arteta in the Etihad dugout in 2020, and has gone on to contribute to several pieces of silverware. Aside from this, Lillo is significantly more experienced than any other assistant manager in the Premier League, overseeing 19 different tenures throughout his managerial career, spanning from 1981 to 2023.
His most notable clubs include Real Sociedad, Real Oviedo and Almeria, while in recent years he's been granted mega-money deals to take charge of Vissel Kobe, Qingdao Huanghai and Al Sadd.
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