FOOTBALL GROUNDING

Q Tell us a bit about football where you grew up. How did you go as a player?

A Like most kids in the UK, football was my life growing up and my long term dream of becoming a player came true. After lots of sacrifices and total dedication I was lucky enough to leave school at 16 and have a 13-year professional playing career. I played as an attacking player and played over 280 professional games. I played for Bradford City, Hartlepool United, Halifax Town, Darlington, so League 1 and League 2. I never made the dizzy heights of the Premier League or I’d be sitting on my yacht. I played with Mark Schwarzer (pictured right), he was there for two years when I was there. I played with Peter Beardsley (exLiverpool) when he was at Hartlepool. I actually crashed Mark Schwarzer’s car. He had a club car and I crashed it, driving to training one day. Unbelievable, it was.

Q When did you turn to coaching and how did you get to Australia?

A I did my advanced UEFA courses while I was still a player. Then when I came to Australia I did my “A” Licence and completed the Pro Diploma and there’s nothing higher. Six years ago now FFA approached me to deliver these courses. I’d come to Australia many times, my brother had lived in Cairns for 15 years so I always wanted to travel a bit. When I finished playing in England (in 2007) I signed up to play for Manly United. I stayed at Manly for eight years. I started running coaching courses then when Phil Moss left for the A-League, I became head coach for the NPL team and after two years, then became technical director.