Maddy Cusack and players were let down by Sheffield United, inquest told

• Former general manager says players ‘deserved better’

• Coach Morgan says he did not raise concerns with HR

Sheffield United let Maddy Cusack down and the women’s team’s transition from part-time to full-time status in the summer of 2023 was not “managed in the way that it should have been”, an inquest into Cusack’s death has been told.

Ian McCallum, general manager of the women’s team between February 2023 and the end of the 2022-23 season on a short-term basis, also told the court that the club had been “slightly naive about what needed to be in place” for full-time women’s football and that a “talented group of players deserved better”. McCallum said his frustration at the club’s approach to the women’s game had “played a part” in his decision to leave the role in the summer of 2023.

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