{"id":1128746,"date":"2026-08-03T23:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1128746\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T23:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:00:35","slug":"ex-manchester-united-assistant-rene-meulensteen-joins-efl-club-in-newly-created-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1128746\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen joins EFL club in newly-created role"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>League One side Stockport County have announced the appointment of Rene Meulensteen in a newly-created role.<\/p>\n<p>The Hatters confirmed the Dutchman&#8217;s arrival as the Director of Football Methodology on Monday.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Stockport County logo and fans at Wembley Stadium for the League One play-offs\" height=\"640\" width=\"960\" data-credit=\"Getty\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stockport-county-fans-sky-bet-1083550390.jpg\" data-caption=\"Stockport County created a role specially for Rene Meulensteen\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/stockport-county-fans-sky-bet-1083550390.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>Stockport County created a role specially for Rene MeulensteenCredit: Getty<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/sport\/football\/team\/1133978\/stockport-county\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Stockport County<\/a> is delighted to announce the appointment of Rene Meulensteen as the club\u2019s new Director of Football Methodology,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stockportcounty.com\/news\/2026\/august\/03\/meulensteen-appointed-director-of-football-methodology\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">a statement read<\/a> on the club&#8217;s official website.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The vastly experienced Dutch coach arrives at Edgeley Park having spent more than two decades working at the highest level of the game, including an immensely successful spell at <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/sport\/football\/team\/113099\/manchester-united\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester United<\/a> under <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/football\/4483770\/ashley-williams-robin-van-persie-alex-ferguson-man-united\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sir Alex Ferguson<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m delighted to be joining Stockport County as Director of Football Methodology,&#8221; Meulensteen said later on Monday. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s a fantastic opportunity to help build on the club\u2019s progress and support the development of players, staff, and a clear football identity.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE ON TALKSPORT<\/p>\n<p>Meulensteen joins having last served as Graham Arnold&#8217;s assistant manager for the Iraq national team between 2018 and 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment comes after a period of change off the pitch for Stockport.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/football\/4295571\/dave-challinor-stockport-county-exit-blackburn-next-manager-efl\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dave Challinor departed as manager<\/a> following their League One play-off defeat to Bolton Wanderers earlier in the year.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Executive Simon Wilson also left, and were replaced by Jim McNulty and Damien Allen, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>McNulty admitted he is looking forward to working with <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/who\/rene-meulensteen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Meulensteen<\/a>, stating: &#8220;It is a genuine pleasure to be adding a coach of Rene Meulensteen\u2019s calibre to our coaching team.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Having operated at the very highest level, guided elite players, and gained invaluable experience across diverse footballing cultures in both domestic leagues and major international tournaments, he brings a tremendous breadth of wisdom and perspective to our coaching team.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"General view of Stockport County's home stadium Edgeley Park\" height=\"640\" width=\"960\" data-credit=\"\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GETTY_Stockport-County-v-Preston-North-End-Pre-Season-Friendly_SPO_GYI2287869246jpg-JS1098867443.jpg\" data-caption=\"It's been all-change off the pitch for Stockport County this summer\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GETTY_Stockport-County-v-Preston-North-End-Pre-Season-Friendly_SPO_GYI2287869246jpg-JS1098867443.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been all-change off the pitch for Stockport County this summer<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This brilliant addition adds another layer of strength to our coaching collective and I am delighted Rene has decided to join our County team.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Allen, meanwhile, said: &#8220;Today marks a significant milestone in our club&#8217;s history with the appointment of our first-ever Director of Football Methodology.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His landmark appointment reflects our commitment to building an elite football department, where every player and coach across the club is aligned behind a clear football philosophy, coaching methodology, identity and way of working.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are delighted to welcome Rene to the club. His wealth of experience, football knowledge and proven success at the highest level will bring invaluable expertise to our coaching department.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He will work closely with our first-team staff throughout the training week and on matchdays, while playing a pivotal role in the development of our football programme across the academy and first team.<\/p>\n<p>Who is Rene Meulensteen?<\/p>\n<p>The 62-year-old is best remembered for his time on the <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/sport\/football\/team\/113099\/manchester-united\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester United<\/a> coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/who\/sir-alex-ferguson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sir Alex Ferguson<\/a> at the helm and the Dutchman part of the backroom set-up, United won the Premier League three times and the Champions League once <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/uncategorized\/93997\/manchester-united-manager-sir-alex-ferguson-retire-end-season-197126\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">before departing Old Trafford in 2013<\/a> after <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/football\/premier-league\/94399\/manchester-united-confirm-appointment-david-moyes-new-manager-six-year-c-1972\/#:~:text=The%2050%2Dyear%2Dold%20has,Old%20Trafford%20on%20July%201.&amp;text=Moyes%20had%20been%20the%20favourite,the%20end%20of%20the%20season.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">David Moyes took charge<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rene Meulensteen waves towards supporters during his time as Fulham head coach\" height=\"420\" width=\"700\" data-credit=\"\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/man-19.jpg\" data-caption=\"Meulensteen was briefly in charge of Fulham\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/man-19.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>Meulensteen was briefly in charge of Fulham<\/p>\n<p>Meulensteen briefly managed Anzhi Makhachkala, following up his stint in Russia with the role of Fulham boss in November 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n<p>However, he was relieved of his duties in February 2014 as Felix Magath took charge at Craven Cottage.<\/p>\n<p>Meulensteen returned to management in 2016 with Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa and then on to Indian side Kerala Blasters in 2017 before taking up his position as Arnold&#8217;s assistant for Iraq.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"League One side Stockport County have announced the appointment of Rene Meulensteen in a newly-created role. The Hatters&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1128747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[121218,748,23712,393,4884,307164,12902,2465,68620,182235,16,15],"class_list":["post-1128746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-bolton-wanderers","tag-britain","tag-efl","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-jim-mcnulty","tag-league-one","tag-manchester","tag-rene-meulensteen","tag-stockport-county","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117034067584646512","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1128746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1128746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1128746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1128747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1128746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1128746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1128746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}