New York City FC have a new permanent head coach as Nick Cushing has been given the role on a full-time basis.
Cushing became manager of the Manchester City women's side in 2013, and spent seven years in the dugout before moving to NYCFC in 2020. Cushing was given the new opportunity to become assistant boss of NYCFC which is owned by the City Group - started by Sheikh Mansour and his entourage shortly after purchasing the Premier League club in 2008.
However, Cushing stepped up as an interim head coach after Ronny Deila departed the club in June 2022, and has now been rewarded with the job on a permanent basis. Cushing had regular run-ins with Pep Guardiola during his time at City, and praised the Spaniard for the role he played in his coaching journey.
It was a big step to leave City and head to NYCFC, especially as it was different to anything that Cushing had even known. But the new head coach said he never felt any pressure as he was supported by City, and also Guardiola.
"The amount of support I have had to get where I am at now is amazing. I have never felt under pressure," he said. "From the likes of Brian Marwood, Gavin Makel, Jason Wilcox and even now Txiki Begiristain and Pep Guardiola.
"For me Pep Guardiola has had an incredible impact on every football coach in the world," Cushing added. "Having the opportunity to sit with him with a tactics board and speak to him around the methods he is using and the ideas that I have has been incredible.
"Almost the first few times it was a bit of a dream because of where he is at. But now he’s evolved my thinking and understanding of how his style is applied and the concept of how he plays and why he’s been so successful.
"To learn from him has been incredible and I’m so grateful of that." And Guardiola was grateful for Cushing's work at City too, regularly congratulating him for his success with the women's side.
Now, Cushing's attention will be on NYCFC even more so moving forward, after he impressed in the dugout as interim boss. The MLS side were rocked by the departure of star striker Valentin Castellanos, who moved to fellow City Group side Girona.
But they weathered a patch of bad form, and managed to make the Eastern Conference finals. They were beaten 3-1 by Philadelphia Union who went on to lose to Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup final, but it was a good run for Cushing's side.
Although they were the defending champions, due to a slump in form during the regular season they were all but written off in the play-offs. But they surprised fans, although they still couldn't make it all the way.
And Cushing reflected on being given the role, as he said: "From the moment I arrived in New York in 2020, I have been really inspired by this City and by the energy in our Club. To have the responsibility of taking this incredible Football Club forward and lead the team and to continue to be successful is what I am really excited about.
“I want to thank everyone at City Football Group for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to continue to grow and develop as a coach. New York City is such a special place, there are some real special people here at the Club, we feed off our city, we feed off of our fans. We feel like our fans deserve a team that plays good football but also delivers trophies and I have the desire to continue that."
