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He is younger than Manchester United veterans like Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Michael Carrick, but new youth team boss Kieran McKenna has been charged with producing their replacements.

The Reds' Head of Academy Nicky Butt has appointed the 30-year-old former Tottenham coach as the new United Under-18s youth team manager.

McKenna, who had to quit playing at Spurs in his early 20s following a hip injury, is Paul McGuinness's successor.

McGuinness, who won the 2011 FA Youth Cup, left the club in February.

United embarked on a root-and-branch review of the academy and McKenna has been called in to bring fresh ideas to the youth set-up.

Butt was alerted to the quality of McKenna's work when the Reds' treble-winner was coaching United's youngsters.

“We had a relationship where our team would go down to Tottenham one summer for a week and then they'd come up to Manchester later in the year,” Butt told M.E.N Sport.

“I was watching Kieran work and I thought he was young to be so confident in what he was doing and very good at it.

“Everyone you spoke to about him spoke very highly of him. He is a very dedicated, very committed, very very organised. He is on the ball with everything.

“More importantly he had the right philosophy that would fit in well at Man United. Both clubs are pretty similar in my opinion. They both produce young players and give them the chance. You look at Spurs last year and they were full of home-produced players and they very nearly won the Premier League.

“Kieran will give us stuff and show us things and we'll say 'wow that's really good we'll put that into operation'. It is good to have a fresh outside view and influence.

“There will be times also when we say to Kieran that that is not the way we do things at Man United. It will be a learning curve for both of us.

“We needed someone young and enthusiastic with a vision to go forward. We wanted someone open-minded with their own ideas. We didn't want a new coach to come in and we give him a sheet and say that is how we do it all the time here. We wanted someone with their own ideas who'd buy into our philosophy.”

Butt was a member of the Class of '92 and was schooled by United legends like Brian Kidd and Nobby Stiles.

But when he graduated to the first team, Sir Alex Ferguson brought in new coaching ideas to update the Reds.

“When we were kids we were so fortunate to have people like Kiddo, Nobby, Eric Harrison, Jim Ryan and the manager Sir Alex Ferguson. It was great, it was all we ever knew,” recalled Butt.

“But then Steve McClaren came in and he'd throw some new innovative ideas in. Then Carlos Queiroz came with a totally new way of training and at first it was 'what is going on here!' It was mind-blowing. It was a revelation. Then Rene Meulensteen came in with his thoughts.

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“You have to be open minded. Sir Alex was the most open minded man ever. When he could see the future he embraced it.

“So for me in my job I feel I have to fully respect United's culture but we have to drip feed in other things from other sports and other ideas from new people. That's what Kieran will bring.”