{"id":902772,"date":"2026-05-01T04:23:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/abbie-mcmanus-backline-to-frontline\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T04:23:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:23:47","slug":"abbie-mcmanus-backline-to-frontline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/abbie-mcmanus-backline-to-frontline\/","title":{"rendered":"Abbie McManus: Backline to frontline!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Skip to Main Navigation<\/a>Skip to content<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Former<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Abbie McManus: Backline to frontline!<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Wednesday<\/span> 08 April 2026<\/span> 11:32<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI support… Manchester!\u201d says a somewhat diplomatic Abbie McManus, as we enquire about her allegiances when United and City go head-to-head in any game of football.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

To be fair to the 33-year-old former defender, if anyone\u2019s entitled to sit on the fence come derby day, it\u2019s her. While others have lined up for both clubs \u2013 namely Alex Greenwood, Ella Toone, Jane Ross, Aoife Mannion, Nikita Parris, Jess Park and Grace Clinton within the women\u2019s game \u2013 Prestwich-born Abbie grew up as a proud Red and would go on to spend two years with us between 2019-21, but not before achieving immense success with City across 174 appearances and 10 campaigns.<\/p>\n

\nWe\u2019re chatting on the phone on a Monday afternoon, and we\u2019ve got lots of questions, which Abbie says she is more than happy to answer \u2013 \u201cas long as the alarm doesn\u2019t go off\u201d. And we\u2019re not talking about the gentle electronic ripple of a smartphone here, but rather the brassy clang of the fire station bells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThat\u2019s because since retiring from the game in September 2023, eight months after breaking her leg while at Leicester City, Abbie\u2019s working life has taken her in a rather left-field direction, with her training as a firefighter for Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service. A lesser-seen career path for retired footballers, certainly, but as Abbie tells us, for her it made absolute sense. \u201cI miss football massively, don\u2019t get me wrong, but everything I miss about it \u2013 the routine, the training, being around people as part of a team, the banter… there\u2019s all of that in the fire service. There are so many parallels between what football and this gives me. In football we\u2019d go to hospitals and work in the community. We do all that now, but instead of representing our football club it\u2019s all about keeping the community safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nIt\u2019s inspirational to hear Abbie talk so passionately about her new career, and she reveals it\u2019s an ambition she\u2019d long held. \u201cEither joining the police or fire service is something I\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d she says, before adding with a laugh: \u201cThen I came to realise the police was too much paperwork for my liking!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span>Training these days involves some extra kit for Abbie!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/image-card><\/div>\n

\n

McManus admits her career change would have preferably come at a later age than 30, were it not for some wretched luck, after an awkward landing while competing for the ball during Leicester\u2019s League Cup win against Sunderland in early 2023 left her with a serious leg fracture. \u201cI tried for a while at come back to full fitness but after speaking to the surgeons I was told I couldn\u2019t play professional football anymore,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThat was a bitter pill to swallow but thankfully I can still walk and run. After I had the bad news I had a decision to make.\u00a0 I decided to visit some local fire stations. I researched, I asked some questions, I applied, and I got in\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAs those who follow her on Instagram might already be aware, Abbie\u2019s unique post-football story gets even more interesting when another ex-Red is introduced into the mix: Jess Sigsworth, the ex-striker who holds the United Women record for most goals scored in a single campaign (18, in 2018\/19).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cObviously Jess and I played at United and Leicester together, and I remember we openly had a conversation at United years ago, saying, \u2018We\u2019ll join the fire service one day!\u2019 as it\u2019s something we were both interested in. So a while after I got in, I spoke to Jess privately. She said she\u2019d had enough of football and could I help her. She asked me questions and I explained the routine, how it was quite like being a footballer \u2013 you go in, have breakfast together, train, have lunch, service your kit… similar to what we\u2019d do as players. Even working night shifts, I told her it\u2019s like an away day \u2013 that\u2019s how I relate it anyway, doing our drills and spending the night here [in the station].\u201d<\/p>\n

\nWhile Abbie is based in Rochdale when on duty, and Jess is 15 miles along the M62 in Farnworth, the former team-mates did end up working together one night, with the events of that shift providing a glimpse of the myriad challenges firefighters must deal with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHow it works is that if someone rings in sick you might have different calls, and I got sent to her station in Farnworth. We turned out to a job together where a deer was stuck in somebody\u2019s railing. It was night so the deer hadn\u2019t seen the railing, had tried to run through it, and its hips got stuck. Thankfully, we managed to free the deer, and it ran off into the distance happy. We do turn up for some mad things!\u201d<\/p>\n

\nWith Abbie and Jess leading the way, who knows, maybe other ex-footballers will follow suit? Especially when you consider the opportunity to kick a ball with your co-workers remains. \u201cJess and I still play,\u201d says Abbie, who no doubt holds back on some of the tackles she was so good at while playing competitively. \u201cThe team is going to Spain in April, where they\u2019ll play the police, the army… so there\u2019s still football as a part of being a firefighter. The service is supportive of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Such is Abbie\u2019s passion for her new profession, we could no doubt quiz her on it for a lot longer, but conscious as we are of those fire-station bells drowning out our chat, we move the talk on to her two former clubs.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhen my work doesn\u2019t take priority, I\u2019ll watch City and United games, and I\u2019ve been doing a bit of comms on both teams this season,\u201d she says. \u201cThe \u2018swap\u2019 between the clubs has been really interesting. Jess Park has settled in so well; she\u2019s been United\u2019s standout player this season. Grace [Clinton] is probably not getting as many minutes as she\u2019d have liked at City but both are amazing talents. Kerolin has impressed me most at City, especially her hat-trick against Chelsea. I do think it would be nice to see City win the title after so many years of Chelsea dominating. They deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAlthough McManus grew up as a Red \u2013 \u201cIt was always United at home because my dad and two brothers were Reds, although my Nana was a Blue\u201d \u2013 Abbie\u2019s affection for City is understandable, considering her haul of winner\u2019s medals from her time at the club: one National League North,\u00a0 one WSL, two FA Cups and three League Cups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe memories I have from City are literally the best memories of my life,\u201d she tells us. \u201cWhen I think of our first Conti Cup final win against Arsenal [in 2014] and Izzy Christiansen heading in Krystle Johnston\u2019s cross, I get goosebumps. The trophy followed us around for the next 12 months, we were such underdogs. And then there was the first league [in 2016], and first FA Cup [in 2017]. Great memories.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span>It’s been great to have Abbie covering United Women on MUTV this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/image-card><\/div>\n

\n

When news broke in the spring of 2018 about the reformation of the Reds, Abbie started to keep a close eye on developments on the other side of town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCasey Stoney first rang me when United were still in WSL2 but I politely declined, because I was happy at City, and at the same time I was also fighting for a place in [England\u2019s 2019] World Cup squad. I\u2019m not saying if you play in WSL2 you can\u2019t play for England, but at that time the division wasn\u2019t as competitive as it is now. I know Alex Greenwood did it, but she was more established for England than I was and I didn\u2019t want to risk it [both players did make the Lionesses squad]. But playing for United was something I had in the back of my mind from that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAfter Stoney\u2019s Reds stormed to the second-tier title, the boss picked up the phone once again. A switch from Blue to Red was confirmed on 1 July 2019, with McManus\u2019s competitive debut for United coming in our inaugural WSL fixture \u2013 away to City. \u201cCaroline Weir\u2019s screamer at the Etihad to win it… unreal!\u201d she recalls of that momentous day, in which we lost 0-1. Her \u2018goal\u2019 that never stood in our 2-3 FA Cup loss to City in January 2020 (the ref deeming the ball hadn\u2019t crossed the line) provided another memorable \u2013 if painful \u2013 link with her old club from her early days at United.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span>The former England international played for City before joining United in 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/image-card><\/div>\n

\n

Two months on, Covid restrictions would provide an unwanted backdrop to the rest of Abbie\u2019s time with the Reds \u2013 a curtailed campaign, followed by one in which we played just a solitary fixture in front of a crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nIndeed, only 18 of Abbie\u2019s 25 United appearances came with supporters in the stands \u2013 a tally that saw her chip in with two goals, both in the League Cup, before a January 2021 loan to Spurs, which preceded a permanent move to Leicester that summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nWhile there would be no medals to add to her collection throughout her time at United, McManus still harbours positive memories of her time with the club. \u201cWe were a proper family,\u201d she says. \u201cWe all dug in, and we had such togetherness to help each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span>Abbie remains good pals with former United team-mates Ella Toone and Jess Sigsworth.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/image-card><\/div>\n

\n
\n

New friendships were formed \u2013 including that with a certain fellow future firefighter \u2013 while she relished the opportunity to reconnect with a team-mate who she\u2019d first met at City. \u201cElla [Toone] was at City when I was there,\u201d says Abbie. \u201cUnfortunately, at the age of 18 she didn\u2019t get a contract. She still had the offer to stay, but I was the first one in her ear saying, \u2018you can\u2019t do that, you\u2019re too good\u2019, and obviously look at her now… it was the best decision she ever made.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cElla and I are close friends, and that\u2019s something I\u2019ll cherish forever. She moved house recently and I was round, helping her drag suitcases into the loft once we\u2019d emptied them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAs our enjoyable chat draws to a close, we try to push McManus once again on who she\u2019ll be supporting when the Reds and Blues of Manchester next meet on the pitch, but she\u2019s not biting. It\u2019s clear that both clubs will always hold a special place in Abbie\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Our interview with Abbie was first published in the United Women v Man City matchday programme last month.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Recommended:<\/h2>\n