Bringing on stars

George went along to see his son’s team – now he’s main man

the coaches as well.

“I do 10-hour days, sometimes 12, 13, 14hour days, but that’s important, because to get the basis of what we have here you’ve got to work at it.

“It’s not just a case of coming in, you need to have the drive and motivation to go and take kids through the system.

“When I sign somebody at under-11s I’m looking to get them to 12s, 13s, 14s, 15s, 17s, 20s and then hopefully into the first team – and we do that quite well here.

“You’ll know that from the amount of kids that we take through our academy and the amount of kids that have represented the club at first-team level.

“You have guys like Greg Docherty, who’s been here since he was 10, Scott Mcmann is the same, Craig Watson who is no longer with us but had been here since he was 10, and Ronan Hughes has been here since he was 10

years old as well. We last recorded that there were seven players that have played at every single age group.

“We’re a very close club. The first-team manager will know most of the kids in the academy. He and his assistant Guillaume Beuzelin will come and watch games.

“We have Brian Potter who is the goalkeeping coach for the first team and also for the academy. Brian works on a Monday and Wednesday night as well, taking our young goalies as well as trying to push them to bigger and better things.

“We have 25 coaches, full-time sports scientists, the medical side, physios – a big group to keep the academy running.

“Everybody at the football club plays a part in the academy, it’s not just myself. That includes the manager, assistant manager, Jason Scotland, who comes in to do a bit of striker coaching with our kids as well, so all these things are networked together. We have a com programme, and we have others, li Mcculloch who takes the com programme on board, and Cat Mc up in the office to look after the PA s

“And there are others who help k ship going, there are a few bodies just trying to piece it together.”

On the situation that changed G life and career, he said: “I’ve been 11 years, full-time I’ve been her years. In the first four years I ca with my son Alan, who came her under-10s, and one day they were for a bit of help.

“I assisted the coach, and it we there. I met (chairman) Les Gray said I should come in to help bu academy they were trying to buil that was about 11 years ago.

“I’ve been involved in the pro trying to do that. I came here any coaching qualifica