David Wright (born 1 May 1980) is an English former professional footballer and manager who was most recently Assistant First-Team Coach of League One club Milton Keynes Dons.

After Keen left by mutual consent in April 2016, Wright took temporary charge of Colchester's penultimate league game of the 2015–16 season.

Born in Warrington,[2] Wright rose through the youth team ranks at Crewe Alexandra,[3] making his first-team debut for the Railwaymen in August 1997 as a late substitute during a 2–0 away win against Norwich City.

[6] However, Wright found himself out of favour in his second season, and having not made a league appearance, he joined Norwich City on a one-month loan deal in November 2005.

[8] Following his loan spell, Wright made his Premier League bow for the Latics, replacing Leighton Baines at left back after 66 minutes in what ended as a 3–0 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers on 31 December 2005.

[13] He made his Town debut in a 1–0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on 13 January,[14] and in only his second appearance for the club, Wright found himself sent off for handling the ball in Ipswich's 3–2 win over local rivals Colchester United.

[16] Wright featured regularly for Town in the 2007–08 season, ending the campaign with 43 appearances in all competitions and scoring two goals;[17] against Bristol City in a 6–0 thrashing[18] and against West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day 2008.

[31] He made seven appearances during the spell, and although the club attempted to extend his loan, the deal fell through as it was not confirmed before a 17:00 GMT transfer deadline on 22 November 2012.

In a dual-coaching role, the move also saw him named as manager of Isthmian League Division One North side Maldon & Tiptree in a development link-up between the two clubs.

[41] After Keen left by mutual consent on 26 April 2016, Wright was named as caretaker manager for the penultimate game of the 2015–16 season following Colchester's relegation from League One three days earlier.

After Colchester took the lead in the first-half, two Barnsley goals second-half turned the match in the home side's favour, but an equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time from Tom Lapslie rescued a point for Wright and his team.

[47] On 17 August 2021, Wright joined League One club Milton Keynes Dons as assistant first team coach, working under new manager Liam Manning.