Bristol City Women name Manchester United assistant Charlotte Healy as new head coach | Bristol Live

Charlotte Healy will lead Bristol City Women into the WSL 2 next season having been named the Robins' new head coach

Bristol City Women have named Charlotte Healy as their new head coach, with the former Manchester United assistant taking over the reins at Ashton Gate ahead of the new season.

The Robins have been without a head coach for a month after Steve Kirby departed BS3 in May following a single season in the hot seat. A disappointing end to the campaign saw City finish sixth in the Championship, 13 points adrift of London City Lionesses and the only automatic promotion place.

Healy, who has been part of Manchester United set-up since joining the club as Under-21s boss in 2019, before becoming a part of Mark Skinner's first team staff in recent years, will be looking to have the Robins fighting near the top of the revamped second tier this season.

Although this is his first role as a head coach, her record of working with up-and-coming players throughout her career has caught the eye of the decision-makers at Ashton Gate.

City Women chair Gavin Marshall said on the appointment: "Charlotte was the outstanding candidate throughout the recruitment process, and not only has she worked in the WSL, but she also has a track record of improving young players.

“We are looking forward to working with Charlotte ahead of our upcoming WSL2 campaign.”

Healy added: "I’m really excited to be here at such a big club with a rich history in the women’s game. I’m delighted and can’t wait to get going.

"Providing opportunities for young players is really important, it’s something I value and love doing. I love seeing players progress into the first team and I’m excited to be able to provide that opportunity to players in our pathway.

"I’m high challenge, I want us to win, I want us to be successful but if you came into my environment, I hope you’d see it is really high support as well," she continued. "I can’t wait to play in front of our fans, and they’ll be a huge part of what we do."

There is plenty of work to be done in BS3 between now and the start of the season. Mari Ward, Lia O'Leary, Malaika Meena, Lexi Lloyd-Smith, Harley Bennett, and Tianna Teiser are the only senior players currently under contract, while both Ella Stowell and Issi Hebard remain registered.

When they published their retained list at the start of June, the Reds confirmed that contract negotiations were ongoing with Fran Bentley, Sille Struck, Chloe Mustaki, Jamie-Lee Napier, Amy Rodgers, Emily Syme, Ella Powell and Ffion Morgan. Since then, City have confirmed that Wales international Morgan will be departing the club upon the expiry of her contract while updates are yet to be shared when it comes to the other seven players in talks.

The WSL 2 season gets underway across the weekend of September 6 and 7. The revamped division, which was previously known as the Championship, has been brought closer to the top tier of the game. From next term, the top two sides will both be automatically promoted while the team that finishes third will face the WSL's bottom side in a play-off for a place in the top division.

Healy and those above her at Ashton Gate will be keen to make a few first-team additions between now and then.