Sean McAuley (born 23 June 1972) is an English football manager and former player who serves as the interim manager for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United FC. Born in England, he made one appearance for the Scotland U21 national team.

Playing career

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

-born McAuley began his football career with Manchester United, signing on with the club as an apprentice in July 1988. He turned professional on 21 June 1990, but was sold to St Johnstone for £80,000 two years later, without having made a single appearance for the United first team.

Coaching career

McAuley was appointed Sheffield Wednesday's Academy head coach in January 2006. He became caretaker manager of

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

between the sacking of

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

and the appointment of

Brian Laws Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...

in late October and early November 2006 respectively. McAuley was in charge for four first-team games, winning three and drawing one. The victories were over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. The draw was a 2–2 scoreline at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. Following the appointments of both Laws and Alan Irvine, he returned to his career as the Owls' Academy head coach. Following the sacking of Brian Laws on 13 December 2009, McAuley was re-installed as caretaker manager, until a replacement could be found. His first game was a 2–0 home defeat to Swansea. He then went on to draw 2–2 with league leaders Newcastle United and lose 2–1 to

in the 3rd round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, both at home. McAuley has been involved in Sheffield Wednesday's work to build partner relationships with clubs in North America. He has developed ties with clubs in northern California and Michigan, and in April 2009 he travelled to Canada to undertake coaching sessions with

Victoria Highlanders Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008 and currently play in the League1 British Columbia. The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 20 ...

. However, in July 2012, Sean McAuley departed

in order to become the Assistant Manager at Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. McAuley previously played in Portland for the pre-MLS Timbers. In August 2018, McAuley joined James O'Connor's technical staff at Orlando City SC as an assistant coach. In January 2020, McAuley joined

Adrian Heath Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He currently serves as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United FC. As a player, he is best known for his six seasons at Everton, where h ...

's coaching staff at Minnesota United FC as an assistant coach. In October 2023, McAuley was named interim head coach at Minnesota United FC following the sacking of

Managerial statistics

Notes

External links

Halifax Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAuley, Sean 1972 births Living people Footballers from Sheffield English football managers Manchester United F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players A-League (1995–2004) players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers Minnesota United FC coaches Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Portland Timbers non-playing staff Men's association football defenders Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate men's footballers Orlando City SC non-playing staff English men's footballers