THE coach of former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack called her a liar in an account to the FA after her death, an inquest heard today.

Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Cusack, 27, was found unresponsive at her home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on September 20 2023, after her manager Jonathan Morgan made comments about her weight and relationship.

Ms Cusack’s family sent a written complaint to United after her death, outlining issues allegedly stemming from her relationship with Mr Morgan, with whom she had also worked at Leicester years earlier.

On Monday, Mr Morgan was asked by Dean Armstrong KC, representing Ms Cusack’s family, about a comment he made calling her “generally a liar” in an account to the FA, which was investigating the circumstances around Ms Cusack’s death.

Mr Morgan said: “In terms of the scenarios since Maddy passed away, I genuinely feel things have not been portrayed factually or correctly with how she was feeling.

He added: “With the lying comment, it was based on the back of things after Maddy passed away. It became evident she omitted things to her family and others that I had supported her with.”

The inquest heard that Ms Cusack did not play during Mr Morgan’s first match at United after he joined the club in February 2023, despite playing for the full 90 minutes the week before.

Mr Morgan denied he was trying to “cut her down to size” by not letting her play, adding that she was recovering from an injury she sustained before he came to the club.

Ms Cusack’s mother, Deborah Cusack, previously told the inquest that her daughter would have been “absolutely humiliated beyond belief” when Mr Morgan called her girlfriend and team-mate Grace Riglar “Mrs Cusack” in front of other players.

Mr Morgan told the inquest that “never happened,” adding that he had said “here come the girlfriends.”

Ms Riglar previously told the coroner that Mr Morgan asked players who were in a relationship within the team to tell him about it.

Asked about this, Mr Morgan said: “In the past, relationships have had issues within the environment. People would break up, it would cause scenarios that sort of divided the team’s opinion and make things a bit uncomfortable.”

He said Ms Cusack and Ms Riglar told him about their relationship, adding: “It was a five-minute conversation, I said ‘that’s fine’ and we moved on.”

Mr Morgan said that when he called Ms Cusack “bottom-heavy,” he was referring to her legs being “too muscular,” which would burn her energy when sprinting.

Mr Morgan said that on another occasion he told Ms Cusack she looked “much fitter,” but she interpreted that as him calling her “fat.”

The coach added: “Which obviously is not true.”

The inquest has heard that Ms Cusack changed her eating and exercise habits, including by skipping breakfast and going for extra runs after training.

Mr Morgan said that he did not call Ms Cusack a “psycho” from the sidelines during a game before he joined United.

He told the inquest: “Everyone’s saying they heard it secondhand or from Maddy. No-one’s suggesting they actually heard it.”

The inquest has heard Mr Morgan called Ms Cusack “love-sick” when talking to a colleague in United’s marketing department, where the player also worked, referencing the fact Ms Riglar had recently moved from United to a different club.

Mr Morgan told the court it was a “colloquialism,” adding: “I felt like she was missing Grace. The terminology I used was that.”

Mr Morgan said there was “nothing out of the ordinary” when he saw Ms Cusack for the first time after he joined United, but there was a “level of anxiety.”

Mr Morgan was asked about a call he had with Ms Cusack, when she said she was having some time off football and had been prescribed medication.

He said: “I told her ‘take all the time you need, there’s always a place for you on my team this season’.”

The inquest continues.