Jose Mourinho will promote coaches from Manchester United's academy set-up to help fill the void left by the departure of longtime assistant, Rui Faria, sources have told ESPN FC.
Faria, who has worked alongside Mourinho for 17 years, confirmed at the weekend that he would leave his position once United have contested the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
The loss of the Portuguese coach is a blow for Mourinho, who has described the 42-year-old as being crucial to his success as a manager, with Faria a continual presence on his coaching staff since throughout his successful periods at Porto, Chelsea (twice), Inter Milan, Real Madrid and now United.
But having already handed Michael Carrick a place in his backroom team next season following the United captain's retirement at the end of this term, Mourinho is prepared to promote from within rather than seek to make an outside appointment.
Silvini Louro, another longstanding Mourinho confidant, remains on the coaching staff, with Ricardo Formosinho, Carlos Lalin, Emilio Alvarez and analyst Giovanni Cerra also continuing to work on Mourinho's team.
Carrick's elevation, despite his inexperience as a coach, is regarded as being a significant promotion by the club and by Mourinho, who sees the 36-year-old as being able to provide a crucial link between the playing staff and coaching team.
And with Carrick due to take a prominent position in Mourinho's backroom, the United manager is prepared to bolster his coaching staff with coaches from Nicky Butt's academy team, with under-18s manager Kieran McKenna impressing many at the club since his arrival from Tottenham two years ago.
Mourinho said that he hopes Faria will come up against him in opposition in future.
For the time being it seems that Faria, 42, intends to take a break but Mourinho believes he has the credentials to be a manager himself. Indeed, he has even been linked with the upcoming vacancy at Arsenal.
Asked if this felt like the end of an era, Mourinho told MUTV: "Yes, but maybe one day we are playing against each other in the Premier League. If that moment arrives, I will be a very proud guy because this man came to me when he was a kid 17 years ago. So, if that happens, I will be a very proud guy."
Initially Mourinho intends to continue without a designated assistant but he hopes Carrick can grow into that role. He already has no doubt he will be able to call on Carrick's expertise when it comes to identifying new players, particularly in his old midfield role.
"I have to make the decisions but of course my assistants have an opinion," Mourinho said. "He has, in relation to his position, a different vision than any other opinion that we can have from any scout or any analyst department."