David Gerald Unsworth (born 16 October 1973) is an English football coach and former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who was most recently the manager of

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. Prior to this, he was academy director and under-23s head coach at

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side Everton. As a player, Unsworth played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

from 1991 until 2009. Unsworth is best remembered for his time at Everton during the 1990s, where he was part of their

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

-winning team of

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and acquired the nickname ''"Rhino"''. He earned one full

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

cap in 1995. He also played in the

for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, and in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. After retiring, he moved into coaching with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

where he was twice appointed caretaker manager. He returned to Everton in September 2013 as assistant to Everton U21s head coach

Alan Stubbs Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a centre-back who played top flight football for every club he played for. He played in the Premier League with Bolton Wande ...

, and succeeded him in 2014. He was twice named caretaker manager of the club in 2016 and 2017.

Club career

Born in

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Unsworth began his career in the youth system at Everton. He made his first team debut in an away game at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in April 1992. He made few appearances for the senior side until the appointment of

Joe Royle Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the E ...

as manager. Royle made Unsworth a regular member of the starting XI, and he was part of the 1995 FA Cup winning team. After 133 league and cup games over several impressive seasons at Everton, Unsworth transferred to

for the 1997–98 season. He made his West Ham debut on 23 August 1997 against his old club, Everton. After receiving an ovation from Everton fans, Unsworth was on the losing side as West Ham lost 2–1. After his family failed to settle in London and only one season and 41 games he asked for a move closer to his

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

home. Rather than moving back to Merseyside, he was signed by

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

-based club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

for £3 million but his family did not settle in Birmingham. After only a month, before the season had even begun, citing problems with the lengthy commute from his home, he returned to Everton who paid Villa the same £3 million West Ham had accepted only a few weeks before. Unsworth was a consistent performer in his second spell with Everton, being first choice left-back, but also scoring some vital goals in his role as dead-ball specialist, mostly penalties. At the end of the 2003–04 season, after a further 216 games and his contract expired, a disagreement with the club over the length of a new contract led to Unsworth leaving on a free transfer. On 12 July 2004, he was signed by

for the 2004–05 season on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 1–1 home draw with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, scoring the equaliser from a penalty. He also scored another spot-kick in Portsmouth's famous 2–0 victory over

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in October 2004. However, following the resignation of manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

, Unsworth lost his place having played just 18 games, and spent the second half of the season on loan at

, making 16 appearances, scoring on his debut against

. On 22 August 2005, Unsworth was signed by

on a three-year contract, on a free transfer after it became clear that Ipswich Town could not afford his wages. He was part of the team which were promoted to the

as Championship runners-up at the end of the season. He missed a penalty for United in a 0–0 draw against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on 9 September 2006. Unsworth fell out of favour at Sheffield United under the management of

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...

, and was placed on the transfer list in the January window. On 5 January 2007, Unsworth signed for

from Sheffield United on a free transfer. He played his first match on 13 January against Chelsea. On the last day of the 2006–07 Premier League season, in a twist of fate, Unsworth would score the penalty that sent down his former club Sheffield United, whilst simultaneously saving his new employers Wigan Athletic from

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

. Unsworth was released by Wigan at the end of the 2006–07 season on 17 May 2007. On 11 August, he signed for

on a one-year contract, scoring his first goal against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. At the end of the season, he was offered a new deal as a player-coach by manager

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...

, but he rejected the offer and left the club on 30 June 2008. On 8 August 2008, Unsworth joined

on a one-year deal after impressing on trial in their pre-season. He along with five other players made his debut in a 1–1 draw against

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

at the

Galpharm Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

on 9 August 2008. Unsworth missed a penalty in a 2–1 defeat away at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

on 30 August 2008 and did not feature again. He was released from his contract on 30 March 2009 after making four appearances, and announced his retirement from football shortly afterwards.

International career

Unsworth was part of England's U20 squad that finished third at the

1993 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1993 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 9th edition FIFA World Youth Championship. U20 Brazil defeated Ghana, 2–1 for its third title. It took place a ...

in Australia, scoring the first goal in their 2–1 third-place play-off win over Australia at the

Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Football Stadium may refer to: * Sydney Football Stadium (1988), the original stadium which was demolished in 2019. * Sydney Football Stadium (2022) Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, i ...

. He played for the England under-21 team on 7 occasions between 1994 and 1995. He made a single appearance for

's senior team, in a 2–1 victory against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

on 3 June 1995.

Coaching career

Unsworth announced his retirement on 3 April 2009. After retiring, he joined

as development coach. He was promoted to first team coach following the departure of Alan Irvine, and appointed caretaker manager on 30 December 2010 following the departure of Darren Ferguson, until the arrival of Phil Brown on 6 January 2011. On the dismissal of Brown and his assistant

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this, he spent four ...

, Unsworth was appointed caretaker manager in December 2011 with

Graham Alexander Graham Alexander (born 10 October 1971) is a professional football coach and former player who manages EFL League One club Bradford City. In a lengthy playing career, Alexander represented Scunthorpe United, Luton Town, Preston North End an ...

. On the appointment of new manager

Graham Westley Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English professional football manager and former professional footballer. Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curtailed due to injury whilst playing for ...

, Unsworth was dismissed. He turned down the chance to manage Irish club

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...

in 2012. On 6 December 2012, Unsworth returned to former club Sheffield United as Head of Academy Coaching. Following the departure of Blades manager Danny Wilson in April 2013, Unsworth was named as assistant to caretaker-manager Chris Morgan at United. The following summer, and having reverted to his previous role following the arrival of David Weir as club manager, Unsworth was given permission to speak with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

about their vacant managerial position. However, Unsworth rejected the approach, only to subsequently leave the Blades on 1 August 2013. Since departing Sheffield United, he had been working alongside the Scottish FA as a course tutor and within the Everton academy system. In September 2013, he was appointed as assistant manager of the Everton U21 team, working with Alan Stubbs. In 2014, Stubbs moved to Hibernian, leaving Unsworth in charge. In May 2016, following the departure of

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (; born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Re ...

as Everton manager, Unsworth took charge of the final game of the

2015–16 Premier League The 2015–16 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the ...

, a 3–0 win over

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, alongside

in a caretaker capacity. He returned to coaching Everton's Under-23 team following the appointment of

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

as first team manager. After Koeman was sacked on 23 October 2017, Unsworth again became

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

of the senior side. On 12 April 2022, Unsworth left Everton in order to pursue his ambition of becoming a first-team manager. On 20 September 2022, Unsworth was appointed manager of

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

. He lost his first game in charge, a 3–0 defeat at

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

. After a seven game winless run, Unsworth was sacked by Oldham on 17 September 2023. His final game in charge was another 3-0 defeat at Bromley.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

"David Unsworth's statistics as manager"
Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 September 2022.

Honours

;Everton *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

;Sheffield United *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

runners-up: 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unsworth, David 1973 births Living people Footballers from Chorley English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football central defenders Men's association football fullbacks Aston Villa F.C. players Everton F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players England men's youth international footballers Preston North End F.C. managers English Football League managers Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Everton F.C. managers Premier League managers English football managers Everton F.C. non-playing staff Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers English football coaches