but the bigger challenge is trying to make sure they stay
interested and involved. Growing up in Glasgow, football
was a means to an end for me. I wanted to better my life
through playing the game and I stuck in and managed to do
that. I think there always has been and there always will be
players who have a strong, dedicated mindset and these
players are the ones who will shine through.
YOU WERE A CENTRE-HALF IN YOUR
PLAYING DAYS BUT HOLD THE RECORD FOR
MIDDLESBROUGH’S YOUNGEST EVER SCORER
OF A HAT-TRICK. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLAYERS, ESPECIALLY
AT GRASSROOTS LEVEL, TO EXPERIMENT WITH
PLAYING IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS AND NOT TO
BE CONFINED TO ONE POSITION?
Football has definitely changed for the better in this
sense. There’s a lot more fluidity to the game and more
‘complete’ players. I think it’s important to encourage
players at a young age to get about the pitch, because
in games you need to be able to deal with a number of
different situations.
Earlier in the year, you led Villa’s
under-19s to the NextGen Series trophy,
essentially the European Cup of youth
football. How important do you feel it
is for players at a younger age level
to have experience playing against
European opposition?
The two years that we were involved in the NextGen
Series were probably the best two years we’ve had at
Aston Villa in terms of development football. The whole
process of travelling abroad with the team, experiencing
different cultures, different styles of play and refereeing
was an invaluable experience for the players and
something that will benefit them massively going forward.
BEING CROWNED THE BEST YOUTH FOOTBALL
TEAM IN EUROPE IS OBVIOUSLY A MASSIVE
CONFIDENCE BOOST FOR THE PLAYERS. HOW
DO YOU CHANNEL THIS CONFIDENCE, WHILE AT
THE SAME TIME KEEPING UP THE WORK RATE
OF THE PLAYERS?
Firstly we’re delighted for the club and the players to
have won the trophy. We feel like the guys had a great
season and fully deserved the success. It’s important
though, that we look at the experience as whole, rather
than simply the fact that we won it. The players learned a
lot over the course of the competition and we’re looking to
make sure that we use this experience as a positive factor
and continue to push forward.
WHAT FOR YOU HAS BEEN THE MAIN HIGHLIGHT
OF YOUR TIME WORKING WITH ASTON VILLA?
Any time that we see players that we’ve worked with
in the youth set-up progress to the first team, that’s a
real highlight for us. To see them step out onto the pitch
and play their first game in the Premier League is great
to witness. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some
great players over the years; people like Gareth Barry
and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Gabby’s been with us since he
has a kid and obviously he’s gone on to make hundreds of
appearances for the first team. So seeing players progress
like that is definitely the most rewarding part of our job
with the youth team.
WHO HAS INFLUENCED YOU MOST IN TERMS
OF YOUR COACHING METHODS OR IS THAT
SOMETHING THAT YOU GAINED FROM YOUR
EXPERIENCE OF PLAYING THE GAME?
Working with Brian Little at Darlington I was really
encouraged to get my badges and improve as a coach. I
was given a lot of time to develop my own methods and I
think that’s important.
WHAT MANAGER DID YOU MOST ENJOY
PLAYING UNDER AND WHY?
In my youth football days, I played for Eastercraigs and
Ian Stevenson there was probably the first person who
introduced me to the idea of playing football as a career.
Manager-wise though I’d probably say John Neal. I played
under him for a long time at Middlesbrough and he took
me on to Chelsea, so I’d probably say it would be John.
Issue # 1 | YFS Magazine | 27