Intense Paolo and workaholic Hartley nearly put Simon off
SIMON FERRY is embarking on a career in coaching.
As he goes down that road, he will be drawing on the advice he has been given by an illustrious list that includes Tommy Burns, Paolo di Canio, Paul Hartley, Jim McInally and Kolo Toure.
The 29- year- old former Celtic, Dundee, Portsmouth and Swindon midfielder – now with Peterhead – helps take some of the drills at his club, and he is also on the staff for the Hoops’ under-nine starlets.
Instilling good habits and helping the kids hone their skill gives Ferry as much enjoyment as he’s ever had from his playing career.
Ferry said: “I’m still playing and hope to have a few years left in me yet. But I’ve really taken to the coaching side of the game and hope to do that for many years.
“Some of the boys at Celtic are blessed with unbelievable talent.
“I’m actually embarrassed at telling one or two of them what to do with the ball. It’s almost as if I feel I don’t have the right to because they probably have more technical ability than I do!
“But the encouraging thing is that when you tell them to do the defensive duties, they listen and implement.
“It’s great that even at a young age, they are willing to do the ugly side of the game and realise that it’s not all about scoring goals and grabbing the glory. “For me, that is brilliant. “If a decade from now, a few of them are making their way at Celtic or elsewhere, then I’ll be very proud to have played a small part in their development.
“I know from my own time as a kid at Celtic, Tommy Burns felt the same way with the youngsters. He told me that’s what gave him the biggest buzz.
“He was full of encouragement and knew exactly the time to praise you, or have a quiet word if you were slacking. He was a great man and I still miss him.
“He signed some fantastic players for Celtic, and I played under one of them, Paolo di Canio, at Swindon.
“He was 100 mph – constantly! I don’t think he ever relaxed for five minutes.
“He loved winning and enjoyed the moment, but when we lost it was a catastrophe.
“He’d have us in at 7am the next day, and he’d be going through our defensive mistakes.
“He’d tell the defenders he wanted them to tackle with more ferocity, and
he’d be sliding around on the astroturf showing them exactly how he wanted it done.
“But his love for the game is unbelievable, and I hope he gets back into management soon.
“I played under Paul Hartley at Dundee, and the hours he put into the job left me gobsmacked.
“He must have been doing 14 or 15 hours a day, six or seven days a week. He never stopped.
“He shouldn’t be out of the game. Actually, seeing the amount of work he put in put me off being a first-team manager!
“I don’t fancy that workload and that’s why I want to stick with the youths.
“My gaffer at Peterhead, Jim McInally, is full of encouragement and his manmanagement skills are second to none.
“He lets me assist at Peterhead now and again, but it’s hard to coach senior players because they are kind of set in their ways.
“That’s what so refreshing about coaching kids. Chris McCart and Martin
Miller have really pushed me on at Celtic and they spotted something in me a few years ago and told me to pursue coaching. I have, and will continue to take my badges.
“The infrastructure at Celtic is amazing and they have everything in place to produce some top footballers for decades to come.
“The kids also see Kolo Toure now and again as his son plays for Celtic under-10s.
“Kolo watches the kids playing and you can tell he loves it. I’ve had a few conversations with him and his ideas on the game are very good.
“He grew up in Ivory Coast and the boys club he played for also produced his brother Yaya, Didier Drogba, Didier Zokoro and Salomon Kalou.
“They didn’t have X- Boxes or anything like that when they were growing up, but they had a ball and practise for hours every day of the week.
“Their road to success was as simple and as straightforward as that.”