Maddy Cusack: Coach tells inquest she was supported at Sheffield United

The coach of Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack has told the inquest into her death that he supported the midfielder and was “really happy” to keep her on his team.

Jonathan Morgan, the former manager of United's women's team, told Chesterfield Coroner's Court he "put everyone first", adding that it was a "tough time" at the club because they were facing relegation when he joined.

The inquest heard that Cusack, 27, was found unresponsive at her home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on September 20 2023, after Morgan made comments about her weight and relationship.

Cusack's family sent a written complaint to United after her death, outlining issues allegedly stemming from her relationship with Morgan, with whom she had also worked at Leicester years earlier.

Morgan, who is representing himself at the inquest and was asked questions by his sister Holly Morgan on Tuesday, said he supported Cusack by improving one of her training programmes and by helping her continue her marketing job alongside football.

The inquest has heard that Cusack found it difficult when she signed as a full-time player at United, because it clashed with the hours she worked in the club's marketing department.

The former coach said: "I provided her with as much money in the contract as I was able to within the budget.

"I wanted her in my senior leadership team, I wanted her opinions. You would not make someone vice captain if you felt you did not have a good relationship with them.

"It was a tough time but everybody in the club was there trying to make it work.

"For me, it was not just about Maddy. It was about everybody in that environment. Everybody was helped, everybody was supported. You can't say I didn't put everyone first in that time period.

"The reality is it's physically impossible for me to know what they all think of me. You know you're going to upset people as well as make people happy."

The inquest has previously heard that Morgan called Cusack "bottom heavy", which he said was referencing her muscular legs, and said "here come the girlfriends" when Cusack was walking with her partner and team-mate Grace Riglar.

He denied calling Cusack a "psycho" from the sidelines during a match before he was appointed manager at United

Morgan said he was "anxious on a number of fronts" about joining United in February 2023, adding: "The first front being the fact I was coming into a team that was in poor form.

"I came in a relegation battle - it was my job to prevent that."

He said players at the club were "very frustrated" because they had only won one of the 10 games they played, and that Cusack was "massively" stressed about this.

Asked if he felt he and Cusack came together during this time, Morgan said: "Yes, 100 per cent. We had the same goal, both of us wanted the club to stay (up)."

In May, Morgan called Cusack to tell her she would be getting her full-time football contract, which he was "excited" to tell her, the inquest heard.

He told the coroner: "(I was) just really happy we were in this position to keep her."

Morgan added: "(It was) really positive. She's shown she's happy - happy with the way I have handled the first period of the relegation battle, that she wanted to be there next season."

In September, Cusack told Morgan she was taking time off work and had been given medication for her mental health.

Morgan's sister asked: "Did you ever talk negatively about mental health?" to which the former manager replied: "No," adding that Cusack approached him "a number of times".

The inquest heard that Morgan did not speak to the club's HR department when Cusack got a sick note from her GP, but he did speak to the club's doctor Dr Subhashis Basu.

He said: "I felt I passed it on to Dr Basu. His experience and his professionalism and his work he was doing, I felt he was for me the best person to go to to support Maddy.

"I went to Dr Basu, I was informed he would take on the rest of it."

The inquest continues.