Manchester City parted company with Women's Head Coach Gareth Taylor on Monday, with former boss Nick Cushing returning on an interim basis.
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: A general view of match action as Etihad Stadium, home stadium of Manchester City is seen in the background during dusk during the Pre Season Friendly between Manchester City and Preston North End at Manchester City Football Academy on July 27, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: A general view of match action as Etihad Stadium, home stadium of Manchester City is seen in the background during dusk during the Pre Season Friendly between Manchester City and Preston North End at Manchester City Football Academy on July 27, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Manchester City will be on the lookout for a permanent new women's team manager in the summer after parting company with Gareth Taylor on Monday.
Taylor's tenure at the Joie Stadium ended after almost five years this week with City sitting fourth in the Women's Super League and at risk of missing out on the Champions League - sitting a point behind third-placed Arsenal having played a game more.
City made the decision ahead of four successive clashes with WSL-leaders Chelsea - the first coming in Saturday's League Cup final, depriving Taylor of a chance to add to his previous League Cup and FA Cup successes with City. Former boss Nick Cushing, who managed City for seven years between 2013 and 2020, has returned on an interim basis until the end of the season.
However, the Manchester Evening News understands Cushing has no interest in taking the job full time past the summer as he looks for a permanent job in the men's game.
Cushing joined City Football Group sister-club New York City FC upon his Blues exit in 2020, initially as assistant manager and then as manager for two years between 2022-2024. He left the MLS outfit after leading them to an MLS Cup final and semi-final, with third and sixth-placed finishes in the Eastern Conference.
After leaving New York at the end of the 2024 season, the Englishman was understood to have been taking time out to evaluate next steps before City's approach, and City were the only women's club he would have considered joining.
He remains focussed on securing a role at the higher levels of the men's game following his New York spell, leaving City in a position of having to search for a permanent successor to Taylor after the season has ended.
Cushing could secure a fifth trophy as City boss in his first game this weekend with the League Cup final, after two wins in the competition in 2014 and 2016, while the Blues face a FA Cup semi-final derby against Manchester United as they chase a potential domestic cup double.
They face a two-legged Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea this month as well as an Etihad Stadium clash against the same opponents in two weeks that could define their top three hopes.
City Women Managing Director Charlotte O’Neill put Taylor's departure down to the WSL performance and Champions League risk, saying: “Manchester City prides itself on competing at the top of the WSL and on its outstanding record of qualifying for European competition.
“Unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard. With six games of the WSL campaign remaining, we believe that a change of management will breathe fresh life into our bid to ensure qualification for the 2025/26 UEFA Women’s Champions League."