HIS DESIRE TO COACH IN ANOTHER COUNTRY

STEPHEN BRADLEY’S deep-rooted interest in Belgian football began when Arsene Wenger tasked him with scouting for Arsenal.

But Bradley — who faces Gent tonight — wasn’t content with just travelling there to watch games, he wanted to lift the bonnet and have a proper look at the mechanics at play.

Before landing the Shamrock Rovers job fulltime in 2016, he made regular visits to Belgium to pick the brains of coaches he admired and watch their teams train.

Visits to top academies there were also a regular occurrence and that education helped shape his desire to manage abroad one day.

Players like James Abankwah and Liam Kerrigan have left the

League of Ireland for

Italian clubs and more and more players are looking further afield than the UK.

Bradley, who turned down the Lincoln City job earlier in the summer, is no different.

As much as it is for players, this is a shop window for managers and coaches and Bradley says: “I’d love to manage in different parts of the world.

Challenge

“I think it would be a really good challenge, be it Scandinavia or around Europe or different parts of the world.

“It’s definitely something I’d be open to at some point in my career.

“You need those countries to want you, or to want an Irish manager, but I’ve always said to the people close to me and my family that I would love that challenge at some point.”

He continued: “A totally different environment, a different culture to learn about and a new language to learn.

“I may never get the opportunity but it’s something I’d be really interested in.”

Bradley did come close to leaving Shamrock Rovers in May when he was offered the Lincoln City job.

But he has no regrets about his decision to stay put.

“I’m not that type of person (who wonders what might have been). When I make a decision, I make the decision.

“I move on very quickly, rightly or wrongly. You have to be big enough to live by those decisions and go with it.”

A former Arsenal youth,

Bradley scouted regularly for Wenger and the dossier of games included Belgium’s Under-21 national team.

And his preference for playing three-at-the-back with Rovers stems from watching Belgian football.