Since leaving school as a 16 year old, my profession has been as a football player. I have played for Aston Villa, Stoke City, Port Vale, Chester City and finished my playing career in Wales with The New Saints FC where I was the record appearance holder domestically and in European competition.
Some of my footballing highlights have been playing against Liverpool in the Champions league, and Manchester City in the Europa league and then going on to win as a manager in Europe. As a player I won 18 domestic trophies and followed that up by winning 4 as a manager. I have now left the football club after a 19 year association.
During my time as a player I became engrossed in the tactical side of the game and started to gain my coaching qualifications. I’m now qualified up to Pro licence level and became a coach educator with the football association of Wales where I really enjoyed coaching and inspiring coaches to take their first steps.
The transition from playing into coaching was seamless, my time in the evenings taken up with coaching in the academy and during the day after training, coaching the under 19s programme. I soon became Head of youth development and retired from playing. This gave me the chance to run the clubs academy. This gave me time and experience in developing players, several stepping up and making first team players, dealing with budgets and mentoring coaches whilst re- writing the coaching syllabus for the club.
I progressed into a full time role as assistant manager where I became number 2 at the club and developed my knowledge, taking sessions, scouting opposition and helping sign players. A very productive time where the club won lots of trophies and also won 27 games in a row breaking the guinness world record of 27 consecutive wins. My strengths are working with players on an individual basis, designing training sessions in conjunction with the manager and opposition analysis. I would also take control of set plays for and against looking at how we could freshen things up constantly.
My final role with the football club gave me the chance to lead the team as first team manager. I spent just short of 4 years in the role where I won 4 domestic trophies and progressed in the Champions league and Europa league which I’m proud of against teams with a much bigger budget than we had to work with. It was a proud moment coaching players in the first team that had come right the way through the academy.
My strengths are my man management, getting the best out of players, scouting players and opposition analysis. Attention to detail is paramount and an obsession to be the best drives me every day. Gaining the pro licence has allowed me to gain confidence in my coaching and I will continue to grow and develop and aim to work at the highest level I possibly can.