The inquest into Maddy Cusack’s death has been adjourned for over six months because of what the family’s legal team have described as “totally unacceptable” delays by Sheffield United.

A six-day inquest was due to begin today but had to be adjourned after the club only delivered a 699-page bundle of documents to the family on December 15.

In a pre-inquest hearing at Chesterfield Town Hall, the coroner, Sophie Cartwright, apologised to Cusack’s family for “the additional upset and stress”. However, the coroner went on to say she did not believe this was a “product of Sheffield United not complying with directions”.

Dean Armstrong, the club’s barrister, told the hearing “we reject entirely any suggestions of non-compliance”. The complaint, he said, was “wholly misplaced”.

Cusack’s death, aged 27, in September 2023 led to her parents, David and Deborah, submitting a seven-page complaint to Sheffield United about her last seven months at Bramall Lane — coinciding with the appointment of Jonathan Morgan as their women’s team manager the previous February.

Morgan has always denied being to blame in any way, stating that they had a normal working relationship and that he had tried to help Cusack, a former England Under-19 international, combine her playing commitments with working at the club as a commercial executive.

The inquest has been provisionally rearranged for June 29 and the latest hearing heard conflicting evidence about what was to blame for delaying proceedings.

Dean Cartwright, the barrister representing Cusack’s family, said the club had “completely ignored” a November 28 deadline and given the family insufficient time to prepare over Christmas.

It was, he said, “totally unacceptable” and “extremely disappointing” that the delays had meant the inquest could not begin, causing the family more anguish. But the club denied any non-compliance, and though the reason for the delay in providing the bundle was not made clear, the coroner did not appear to consider the club at fault.

At a previous hearing in June, evidence was presented that Morgan had subjected players to “bullying behaviour”, branded Cusack a “psycho” and contributed to her deterioration in mental health.

Morgan, who previously managed the women’s teams at Burnley and Leicester City, was accused in one player’s evidence of shouting during one game: “You’re always been a f—— fruitcake, Maddy.”

The player in question, Fran Kitching, United’s former goalkeeper, told investigators: “This type of abuse was not uncommon for Jonathan Morgan.”

Other witness statements were read out from some of Cusack’s former team-mates, including one who accused Morgan of leaving certain players so unhappy they had formed a “trauma bond”.

Taome Oliver, who played alongside Cusack at Leicester, said in her evidence she was “sure (JM) was a contributing factor (to Cusack’s death)” and, speaking of her own experiences, that “he made me feel so alone”.

Appearing via video-link, Morgan told the June hearing that the Football Association’s investigation had taken evidence from a “one-sided selection of witnesses”, adding that “there hasn’t been anybody to challenge the credibility of the witnesses, or put forward to speak for me”.

Morgan, who has chosen to represent himself without legal counsel, claimed the witnesses had been sourced by Cusack’s family and there had been “a manipulation of information” to create a narrative against him. The family deny this claim.

Morgan went on to allege that Kitching held a grievance against him after a proposed transfer to Leicester fell through at the last minute while he was their manager. He also alleged that another player had stated she would never play for him, whereas he had evidence she had texted a member of his backroom staff to ask if she could join his team. Morgan, representing himself without legal counsel, said many of the witnesses giving evidence were players who had been released on his watch.

Armstrong told the previous hearing the inquest would focus on Morgan’s “bullying behaviour” and read out statements from ex-Sheffield players Nat Johnson and Nina Wilson, among others. Wilson said Cusack had “no hope of anything changing while JM (Morgan) was in charge … Maddy would have felt helpless”.

The hearing was also told about a written statement from Callum Davidson, formerly a sports therapist for Leicester, who alleged that Morgan “would treat players so badly they would leave without (the club) having to pay up their contracts”.

Another player, Ellie Wilson, lodged her own grievance procedure at Sheffield United because of Morgan’s alleged behaviour. The club dealt with that complaint in the form of a settlement involving a non-disclosure agreement, preventing her from speaking out publicly.

She, too, linked Cusack’s death to the manager: “Looking back, I felt the club failed MC (Cusack) and me. If they had investigated the matter properly, MC might still be here today.”