Tanya Oxtoby in Negotiations for Newcastle United Head Coach Position

Tanya Oxtoby, the manager of Northern Ireland, has been in charge since 2023 and is currently engaged in advanced negotiations to become the head coach of Newcastle United, a team in the Women’s Super League (WSL) 2.

At 43 years old, Oxtoby has a wealth of coaching experience. Prior to her role with Northern Ireland, she managed Bristol City from 2018 to 2021 and served as an assistant coach to Emma Hayes at Chelsea for two seasons. Her coaching journey also includes assistant roles with Scotland, Birmingham City, Perth Glory, and the Australia Under-20s.

Oxtoby began her managerial career at Nottingham Forest in 2012. Under her guidance, Northern Ireland faced challenges in recent competitions, including a loss to Norway in the Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs last year, and a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Iceland, which resulted in missing out on promotion to the top tier of the Nations League.

Newcastle United has been without a head coach since Becky Langley departed on 21 October. The club currently occupies ninth place in the table. In 2023, Newcastle transitioned to a fully professional setup and finished fifth in their inaugural season in the second tier. This season, the top two teams in WSL 2 will secure automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the team finishing third will enter a play-off against the bottom club in the WSL.