Alan Fettis explains decision to leave Manchester United for Middlesbrough

Alan Fettis says Chris Wilder sold him the exciting project at Middlesbrough that made switching Manchester United for Teesside a 'no-brainer' this summer. And knowing that Boro was such a welcoming and good football club, it made the decision to accept the goalkeeper coaching role an easy one.

Fettis was appointed as new goalkeeper coach this week, bringing to an end more than a decade at Manchester United in various roles to do with their goalkeeping department. He replaced Ian Bennett at Middlesbrough, who has in turn quickly found employment after taking on the same role at Doncaster Rovers.

Most recently Fettis has been serving as head of academy goalkeeping at Manchester United but has experience of coaching both youth and first-team players at Old Trafford and held ambitions to once again work as a first-team goalkeeper coach. He turned down numerous opportunities to leave Manchester United in recent years, but decided this was the right opportunity to leave for.

Chris Wilder's delight as Middlesbrough confirm appointment of Alan Fettis from Manchester United

Explaining why he felt Boro were the right club to leave Manchester United for after over 11 years at the club, he told the Boro club website: “I think the stature of the club. Whenever I’ve been here with Manchester United’s academy they’ve always been good footballing people. Even the time when Dave Parnaby was running the academy, it was always a very welcoming and very friendly club.

“It’s a really good football club and obviously the manager that has come in has done really well wherever he has been previously. I had a few dealings with him when Dean Henderson was at Sheffield United and so I understand what he’s about and how he plays.

“Like me,