ROONEY OPENS UP ABOUT HIS PASSION FOR THE GAME, UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND HIS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE IN A ONE-ON-ONE WITH CARRAGHER

ayne Rooney proved he can talk a good game as a guest pundit on Sky Sports this week but Jamie Carragher discovered that his real passion is to manage or coach his beloved Everton when he finally decides to hang up his boots

There comes a point in every footballer’s career when the end creeps closer and you consider the dreaded question: what next? Wayne Rooney has much more to offer as an Everton player, but, as we sit down to discuss his achievements in the game, he is at his most impassioned when contemplating his future.

“The main thing I want to have a go at is management,” he tells me. “I would love to stay at Everton in a coaching role or, hopefully, manager one day. It is something I want to do — to stay involved, but if that is not possible I will look to see where the opportunities are for me. I am determined to become a manager. From next season I want to be doing some coaching sessions with the under-14s at Everton. It would be good to have all my badges by the time I have finished, but it is also about having the chance to carry on when I have so I can get straight into coaching.”

With Steven Gerrard taking his first steps into management at Liverpool’s academy, what chance he and Rooney boxing on the touchline in a Merseyside derby?

“Ha ha. I hope so,” he laughs. “Obviously my first objective is to do well as a player over the next few years. Then I hope the role can grow into something beyond that. It is something I will about with the club when and I feel the time is right.

“It was Neil Bailey at Manchester United who started me on the ‘B’ licence. We brought in a school from Ashton in Manchester and I coached them at United’s training ground. I took the session on my own and found it very natural. I have never been shy to get up and speak in front of my teammates or anyone. It was comfortable.”

The concern

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With this ambition comes a concern. It must worry the Football Association that top internationals such as Rooney see obstacles as much as help for those with aspirations to coach. It means many, like me, become pundits — media opportunities are more accessible, and less stressful, than those in coaching. “The FA are not happy with the [lack of] ex-England players going into coaching, and rightly so, but they have to do more to make the option attractive,” Rooney says.

“I know players who look at that process and what they see is five or six years to get all the badges. Do they really need that? It is a problem. You won’t get enough players in.

“The FA has to look at that. We do the ‘B’ level coaching licence and, really, anyone can do it. Honestly. Anyone who has played to a level — any Premier League level — they can do that with their eyes shut.

“Imagine you have never kicked a ball in your life and you decide you want to be a coach, you will start on your ‘B’ licence the same as someone who has played 120 games for their country.

“Is that right? Should we really start at the same level?”

I know what Wayne is talking about and think there is a danger of misinterpretation.

“You’re not suggesting top players don’t need coaching courses, though?” I ask.

“I am not saying you have to skip coaching badges. I understand you need to learn more advanced coaching skills, but it is that first bit I am talking about.

“That first step takes longer than it needs to. Is that really necessary for someone with so much experience already?

“They need to be more lenient with the top players.”

It surprises me how much Rooney has caught the coaching bug, and how advanced he is in his post-playing plans.

Like me at the same stage of my career, Rooney has a back-up option he is exploring. His stint on Sky’s Monday Night Football was widely praised and will open further opportunities for punditry.

Many were taken aback by ho assured he was in front of a cam era but no one who knows h well was shocked. “TV is obv ously interesting. When I see y all on TV, I will say, ‘He is good he is [rubbish],’” he says.

“When you get to a certain sta of your career you play the gam thinking in a different way. You think like a manager on the pitc I play that way now thinking, ‘ should be over here, and he shou be there’,” he says.

“I’ve also got some busine interests — I’ve been worki on a device called Swellaw that helps athletes recover fro injuries and comes out this year

When I turn the discussion