Foster cut his management teeth when he was appointed as boss of Galway United in January 2009 after the departure of Jeff Kenna to Saint Patrick's Athletic. The season previous, Foster acted as Kenna's assistant and helped Galway to safety, before being promoted to the manager's seat two months later. As a player, Foster started out at Liverpool and went on to spend time at Chester City, Hereford United and Kidderminster Harriers in both League Two and the Conference. He retired from playing football in early 2006 to take up the position of physio with the Harriers. However, his time in that job came to an end when he arrived at Galway in April 2008, as he accompanied Kenna to Terryland Park following the sacking of Tony Cousins. The Tribesmen experienced a turbulent season due to financial worries, problems which forced both Kenna and Foster out of retirement to help Galway's cause. In the end, the pair helped guide United to safety as they secured their Premier Division status by defeating UCD on the final day of the season. Indeed, Foster could well have ended up at Dundalk in 2010 as Kenna applied for a number of jobs before deciding to remain at Galway. However, the former Irish international made a surprise U-turn in January, leaving the Galway manager's chair open for Foster, who quickly accepted the challenge. He again helped the Westerners to safety as they ended the season in eighth, avoiding a relegation playoff with Drogheda Unitedthanks to the demise of Derry City. At the finish, Galway, despite being beaten three times in the sides' four meetings, were just two points behind Dundalk in the table, and following the departure of Sean Connor from Oriel Park within 17 hours of the final game of the season, Foster took over at the border venue when he was announced as the new boss on 4 December. Foster's first ever game in charge was a 0–0 friendly draw with Athlone Town on 7 February and he went on to become the first manager to win his first league game at the helm since John Hewitt in 1996 as Dundalk grabbed a last-minute winner at Bray Wanderers on the opening day of the 2010 season. In July 2011, Foster completed his UEFA Pro Licence. Ian Foster was appointed Under 21 manager at Coventry City, having replaced Lee Carsleyin the summer of 2013. In May 2015, Foster joined new manager Paul Cook at Portsmouth as first team coach. In February 2017, Foster joined The FA as a specialist coach working across England's development teams. In August 2019, Foster was named as head coach of England U18s
