Neil Wood

Coventry City, Blackpool and Oldham Athletic Wood departed United in the summer of 2004 after 13 years at the club, signing for Coventry City on a two-year contract. Upon signing, manager Peter Reid told the Coventry Telegraph that Wood reminded him of former Everton teammate Kevin Sheedy, also a left-footed midfielder. He made his début in a 4–1 League Cup first round win against Torquay United, but appearances at his new club were rare, and he struggled to avoid picking up injuries and maintaining his fitness. Having made just five appearances in the 2005–06 season, Wood departed the club initially on loan to Blackpool in January 2006, and in the same month the move was made permanent on a contract until the end of the season. Wood received a red card for a dangerous tackle on Gavin Strachan in a fixture against Hartlepool United on 28 January.

Later in the same year, he again moved club, signing a two-year contract with Oldham Athletic following a successful trial period. Upon signing, he criticised Blackpool for offering him a new deal only after pre-season had begun, as well as saying their contract offer was "rubbish". After several appearances, Wood suffered a season-ending knee injury in training, requiring surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. The injury led to his release from the team. Remembering his experience of lower league football in a 2019 interview with The Athletic, he said that he struggled to adapt and was "sick of the style of player. I wanted to get out",

Željezničar, departure and retirement

In February 2008, Wood signed with Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina club Željezničar, where he was managed by Simo Krunić, and experienced tactics-based football for the first time since departing United. requiring a double hernia operation. After several attempts made to contact Željezničar failed, in January 2010 Wood and the club turned to FIFA for assistance with the matter. In November of that year and having made his debut, Wood scored an equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against Rugby Town.

Management career Academy coaching Following his retirement, Wood began observing coaching sessions with Aston Villa, advancing to taking on coaching responsibilities at various youth levels in their academy. Wood initially undertook the role without a wage, taking his coaching badges simultaneously. Villa offered him part-time and full-time roles, and in his first year in the role, Wood guided the team to promotion back to the Premier League 2. In his time as lead coach of the under-23s at Old Trafford, 17 academy players have made first-team debuts for the club.

Salford City In May 2022 he was appointed as manager of Salford City, replacing Gary Bowyer, and made his first signing the following month, bringing in Scottish striker Callum Hendry on a free transfer following his release by Scottish Premiership team St Johnstone. Wood guided Salford to a 2–0 win against Mansfield Town in his first game in charge on the opening day of the 2022–23 season. At the conclusion of the league season, Wood led Salford to the EFL play-offs for the first time, drawing 2–2 on aggregate with Stockport County before losing 3–1 in the resulting penalty shootout.

At the beginning of the 2023–24 season, Salford and Wood endured five league defeats in a row, a record for the club since promotion to the EFL in 2019. On 27 December 2023, Wood was sacked by Salford following a 5–1 home defeat to Tranmere Rovers the previous day, which extended their winless run in the league to eight games and left Salford in 21st place in League Two. Wood was replaced by Karl Robinson.

Managerial statistics