Steve Torpey wants Manchester United to have the best academy in the world after taking charge of the club’s youth setup last summer.
After succeeding Nick Cox as head of Manchester United’s Academy, Steve Torpey became another appointment who previously worked with Jason Wilcox at Man City.
Torpey arrived at a time when United were finishing a £50 million redevelopment of Carrington to ensure the facilities were world-class.
It helps that Torpey and Wilcox have worked together previously, since the academy director will report straight to the club’s football director. For United, having everyone work from the same page is crucial, so long as the methods in place are right.
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Steve Torpey wants Man Utd to have the best academy in the world
Torpey initially joined United with the huge task of replacing Cox, who left that summer to join Everton as technical director.
Cox has built a fine reputation for himself at United, having previously worked in the youth setup at Watford. He was a trusted figure who served the academy wonderfully for years, and his departure was seen as a major loss at the time.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Torpey speaks to Andy Mitten about signing a professional contract at Liverpool, playing for FC United of Manchester and landing his dream job at United.
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Torpey explains that he wants United to have the best academy in football, taking inspiration from the likes of Ajax and Barcelona, who are renowned across Europe.
“I want this to be the greatest academy ever,” Torpey said.
“I’m a big believer in purpose and I know Manchester United has its way. We know the DNA is strong. United need to be the greatest developers of football excellence.
“No matter where I’ve worked before, who I’ve supported as a child, or what I’ve played for, I am totally aligned to the ethos of United and its fans because I think there’s no better feeling than that.”
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Steve Torpey wants to be innovative at Man Utd
Torpey has had big shoes to step into at United following Cox’s exit.
He also spoke about coming into the job and dealing with apprehensive staff, wondering what was coming next.
The youth coach explains that he wants to be innovative in his new role and not to get complacent in an ever-changing sport.
Torpey added: “I walked into an amazing place, but it was at a difficult time. There had been a lot of changes. I met some staff who were apprehensive and wondered what was coming next. I understood that. But the club has had a fantastic academy for years, it’s a credit to everyone involved.
“What I want to bring is a more innovative way. It’s great that we’ve got heritage, DNA and a way of doing things. I’m not going to change those things. I respect them, they’ve served us well. But what I will do is ask: ‘Why? Why are we doing that?’. And if we all collectively agree with the why, that it still fits, then we’ll carry on with that. But if we can fine-tune and tweak, then we’ll look to do that.
“When I came on the first tour-around with (club historian) Jason Leach, he talked about being built on innovation. We cannot become complacent. We’ve got to keep challenging ourselves. We can revitalise, bring energy.
“Other clubs are adding to their number of people and we need to be competitive in that market, so we can deliver the right programmes at the right level with skilled individuals.”
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