Stoney quits United over training base

CASEY STONEY quit as Manchester United women’s boss yesterday because of frustration over poor facilities at the Carrington training base her side shared with the men’s teams. Stoney has been unhappy with the support structure and facilities since the club made the switch to the men’s base at Carrington at the start of the year. Players were unable to shower between training and meals before makeshift cabins were installed, and the nearest toilets are a 10-minute walk from their training pitch and their gym is in a tented facility. Upgrades promised by the club and football director John Murtough have not materialised. Players are understood to feel let down by the way United have handled their temporary presence at Carrington and hear contrasting stories from the women’s team at Manchester City, where Pep Guardiola is known to watch training and encourage togetherness. There is also a frustration at the club’s unwillingness to accommodate them at Carrington on a full-time basis. The club requested a move from Leigh Sports Village because they kept picking up injuries on what they felt were poor pitches. United said in a statement: ‘The pandemic has created unique challenges. These have affected the usual training locations and

schedules for our women’s team at Leigh Sports Village in recent months. The club has had to adapt to be as flexible as possible and we recognise this has impacted the women’s team at times. ‘We are working on a package of medium-term investment that will increase and improve facilities for the women’s team. Long term, Joel Glazer last week referenced that the club will need to increase investment in Old Trafford and our training complex. The longterm intention is be for a fully integrated approach to the training ground that includes men’s team, women’s team and academy.’ One source told Sportsmail that a time-frame for a full-time move to Carrington is the ‘million dollar question’, but a permanent switch is not expected for at least another year. Stoney led United to a second successive fourth-place finish in the WSL this season but insisted she saw the campaign as a ‘personal failure’ after missing out on a place in the Champions League despite topping the table at Christmas.