Ex-Liverpool boss Matt Beard on being sacked as a WSL manager

When Women’s Super League managers are sacked, the clock is ticking to find another job as soon as possible.

With families to look after and few opportunities for full-time jobs in the game, it’s not the easiest thing to do.

“If a Premier League manager loses their job, they are comfortable financially – but we are not,” former Liverpool boss Matt Beard told BBC Sport.

Beard, 47, was sacked at the end of February after four years in his second spell with the club.

He says he needs to get something lined up “by the summer at the latest” in order to provide for his wife and two children, aged 14 and 12.

“I need a plan A and a plan B. I want to stay in football but if I can’t find anything – there are not that many professional teams in England in the women’s game – then I need to look at maybe going back into estate agency work or something like that,” added Beard.

“It would probably be a last resort for me. But at the end of the day I have a family I need to support. I need to look at all options.”

Beard believes losing his job is “part and parcel” of being a football manager and he was supported by the League Managers’ Association (LMA) when he left Liverpool.

But his family moved up to north-west England from London, where the children started new schools, and he is conscious of disrupting things as he contemplates his next steps.

“I want to stay in the game and continue managing. I have my pro licence and degree in business management,” said Beard.

“I think people see me as a fixer who can build something but I know I’m much more than that when I look back at my time as a football manager.

“Roles like a technical director or sporting director are something I would maybe consider. I might also look at high performance workshops or even podcasts.”