Matthew Lawlor (born 20 August 1988) is an English football manager and former player. He is the current manager of EFL League Two club Fleetwood Town.
As a player, he played as high as the Conference National for Farsley Celtic. As a coach, he held numerous roles at Fleetwood and League of Ireland Premier Division partner club Waterford, including several spells as caretaker manager of both.
Career Born in Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, Lawlor played as a midfielder and later centre back for Farsley Celtic in the Conference North and later Conference National (2007–08). He then played for Bamber Bridge in the Northern Premier League for nine years, eventually as captain.
Lawlor began coaching at age 26, working as a development coach for Manchester United in disadvantaged areas. In 2019, he joined Fleetwood Town as a youth coach, and two years later as their head of coaching and player development. He retired from playing in May 2021, aged 32, as he was unable to balance the commitment to Bamber Bridge with coaching Fleetwood's youths and raising his family.
Lawlor became Fleetwood's under-21 manager in December 2022, and became caretaker manager of the first team for one match on 5 September 2023 after the departure of Scott Brown. His team won 2–0 at home against Tranmere Rovers in the group stage of the EFL Trophy.
In April 2024, Lawlor moved to Fleetwood's partner club in the League of Ireland Premier Division, Waterford, as assistant manager to Keith Long. He returned to Fleetwood as under-21 manager in November that year, and after the dismissal of Charlie Adam, he was caretaker again on 26 December for a 2–0 home win over Chesterfield.
Lawlor went back to Waterford in April 2025 as caretaker manager between the tenures of Long and John Coleman, winning three games out of four. After a return to Fleetwood as an individual coach, he went back to being in interim charge of Waterford for the final four games of the season, plus a 2–1 win over Bray Wanderers in the promotion/relegation playoffs on 7 November.
Having returned to Fleetwood as part of Pete Wild's coaching staff, Lawlor succeeded him on an interim basis on 26 January 2026, until the end of the season. On 17 March, after an eight-game unbeaten run, he was made the permanent head coach on a contract until the end of the 2027–28 season.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordFleetwood Town (caretaker)3 September 202310 September 2023Fleetwood Town (caretaker)22 December 202426 December 2024Waterford (caretaker)20 April 20256 May 2025Waterford (caretaker)28 September 20257 November 2025Fleetwood Town26 January 2026PresentTotal
References