Q&A:
AS AN EX-PROFESSIONAL PLAYER YOURSELF,
WHY DO YOU THINK SO MANY PLAYERS LOOK
TO GET INVOLVED WITH COACHING AND
MANAGEMENT WHEN THEY RETIRE FROM
PLAYING?
TONY MCANDREW
ASTON VILLA
YOUTH TEAM MANAGER
For me the coaching side of things was never something
I thought a lot about as a player. I kind of fell into it
whereas players nowadays, especially those reaching
the end of their careers, are looking at the long term and
the options that are available in terms of coaching and
management. I suppose for professional players, who’ve
been involved in the game their whole lives, moving onto
becoming a coach seems like naturally the next step.
HOW MUCH EASIER IS IT THESE DAYS TO MAKE
THE STEP UP FROM PLAYING TO COACHING
AND MANAGEMENT?
Both the FA down here and the SFA up in Scotland
are really good at encouraging players to think about
getting into coaching. A lot more help is given nowadays
with this than there used to be. I think it was realised how
important it is to have strong coaches coming through the
ranks and how this can benefit the game in the long term.
FOOTBALL HAS CHANGED A LOT OVER THE
YEARS WITH REGARDS TO THE FACILITIES THAT
ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO YOUNGER PLAYERS.
DO YOU THINK THERE HAS ALSO BEEN A
CHANGE IN THE MENTALITY OF YOUNG PLAYERS
OR IS IT MUCH THE SAME?
The mentality of players nowadays is definitely a big
issue. With all of the distractions that young people have
these days it’s hard to keep them engaged. Firstly it can
be difficult to get young people interested in the sport
26 | YFS Magazine | Issue #1