Coach played mind games with Cusack before death, inquest told

The coach of former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack had called her a "psycho" and was playing mind games with her before her death, an inquest has heard.

Cusack, 27, was found unconscious by her father David at their family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on 20 September 2023 and died the same day.

An inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday that Jonathan Morgan had made comments about Cusack's weight and her relationship while he was Sheffield United's women's team manager.

Grace Riglar, who played for the team and was in a relationship with Cusack, said Cusack was "anxious" about Morgan joining the club after her experience of working with him at Leicester City.

At the inquest, she said: "I think it was stuff she told me about her previous experience prior to Jonathan coming to Sheffield.

"I think she said that they played a game against a team while Jonathan was the manager. She had done something on the pitch and Jonathan called her a psycho from the sideline.

"I don't think she let anyone know those types of comments affected her, but they did and they made her uncomfortable."

She told the inquest Morgan joining United was a big cause of Cusack's stress.

Riglar added Cusack thought the coach had made a "personal attack" on her by not putting her in the starting line-up for matches.

She said: "She was used to starting every game, she was an important member of the team. When Jonathan came, she was in and out from the starting team a bit.

"Her going from starting, to being on the bench quite a lot... she saw that as a setback. That impacted her a lot.

"I just think she almost felt like it was a bit of a personal attack, and that Jonathan was playing mind games with her by starting her one week and dropping her the next.

"She just felt those little things were intentional."