By Amanda Little

Last updated at 13:16, Monday, 15 June 2009

Over the past two weeks, Graham Kavanagh has only had to glance around the lecture theatre or the training ground at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall to see he’s in good company.

v Peterborough: Graham Kavanagh scores

Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Tim Flowers may have once played in the Premier League, along with Carlisle United’s 35-year-old player-coach, but they’re all on a level playing field now with the smattering of journeyman pros from League One and Two who have all been studying for their UEFA ‘A’ Licence coaching badge on the two-week residential course, where participants are hoping to develop into the finest minds and the most inspirational figures in football.

Carlisle manager Greg Abbott believes Kavanagh is a natural to follow him onto the training ground permanently once his player-coach finally decides to hang up the boots he used to help fire the Blues to League One survival with his stunning goal in the 2-0 win over Millwall on the final day of last season.

While his Carlisle team-mates headed off on their summer break to hot spots around the Med, Kavanagh has been putting in 12-hour days, honing his coaching skills under the guidance of the FA’s top tutors so he can return and impart his new-found knowledge and technical expertise on the Brunton Park training pitch.

And he admits he hasn’t had to look far for inspiration after two weeks in the company of Zola, who is shaping up to be a top manager with West Ham.

“He might be 43 but Gianfranco Zola could easily pass for a man half his age and still be playing with his physique and lifestyle,” said Kavanagh.

“He was flying on the training pitch, and it was a real privilege to work alongside him, because there is no trace of an ego. He’s a very humble man who is very open and friendly.

“There was a great mix of people on the course, from players who’ve played in the Champions League to League One and Two players, and you can learn something from every single one of them.

“We’ve all been out on the training pitch as part of the sessions, and it’s been great training alongside the likes of Zola.

“We’ve been starting at 9am and finishing at 8.30pm - and that’s a long day for us footballers!

“The course has been brilliant for someone like me who is just starting out as a coach.

“Footballers are very selfish. They have to be so that they can be totally focused on performing on a Saturday.

“As a coach, you have to think of the whole group of players and what makes them all tick and how you get the best out of all of them as individuals.

“It’s been great having the opportunity to pick the brains of other people on how you handle different characters.

“It’s been a complete eye-opener because we’re been studying things like psychology and trying to get into the minds of players, communication skills, body language and visual and verbal communication.

“The bottom line is that we look at all the different ways of trying to wins games. You want 18 different characters all pulling in the same direction so it’s how you approach that.

“After all this, I’m going to come back to Carlisle like Jose Mourinho!”

It’s been six months since Kavanagh took up a desk in the coach’s office at Carlisle, but he is yet to complete the transition from player to full-time coach.

Combining both roles has been a huge challenge for the Irishman and, as if that wasn’t tough enough, his introduction to coaching came during a traumatic season in which United came perilously close to relegation to League Two and had to rely on their last day heroics against Millwall to keep them up.

There were a fair few sleepless nights, wondering how he could help Abbott lead the Great Escape, but Kavanagh emerged from the huge test of character without his enthusiasm for a future career as a coach being dented.

He admits he learned far more about himself during adversity last season because he was part of the coaching team trying to fashion a turnaround on the pitch, while also attempting to get the best out of himself as a player during his 37 appearances for the Blues since joining them from Sunderland last October.

He will have a greater involvement on the training pitch next season alongside Abbott and his No2 Dennis Booth. Yet despite the pressure of juggling both roles he insists he is in no rush to bring down the curtain on a playing career which has seen him clock up 587 appearances with Middlesbrough, Stoke, Cardiff, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan and Sunderland and win 14 caps with the Republic of Ireland.

He’s going to have a new mind set though - helping to get the best out of a squad of players during the week, before turning his thoughts purely on to himself on match days.

“Although I’d heard it a million times before, everyone on the course was saying that you should try and play for as long as you can because you’re a long time retired,” said Kavanagh.

“Greg knows what I’m like and he knows I want to play every game. I don’t want to play and not do myself justice but I’m sure my body will tell me when it’s time to finish.

“Last season was a massive learning curve in terms of being a coach and a player. There were times when I was frustrated because I was playing as a coach instead of concentrating on my own performances. When I concentrated on my own performances instead of those of people around me I became a better player.

“I’ve always been vocal on the pitch and given out instructions to players, but I know I need to look after my own game.

“The build up to a game during the week can be very, very stressful for coaches and managers. You are taking on a role where you need to look at how you can improve individuals, get out and watch games and then have to deal with injuries when they crop up.

“I need to then put that to one side and come back to the level where you are just a player focusing on their own game.”

Despite a traumatic season, with former boss John Ward sacked after a depressing sequence of results during the autumn and then the nerve-jangling run in which left United needing to win their final game to avoid the drop, optimism seems to be sweeping through the club.

Momentum has been building since the heroics of the Millwall game and the arrival of former Leeds, Sunderland and Levante defender Ian Harte has clearly helped renew the appetite of fans who have snapped up 1500 early-bird deal season tickets - more than double the number sold at the same period last year.

“I hope fans maybe saw a different approach in the final few games with a different level of intensity,” said Kavanagh.

“The panic set in when we knew we needed results but we pulled it out of the hat and I hope fans believe we are on the right track.

“It’s vitally important we start well next season. We will be looking to get players in and freshen the squad up and there will be pressure for places.

“We need to be on song every day of the week in training and then go out and perform on a Saturday, and I’ll be aiming to play my part in both those objectives.”

First published at 11:27, Monday, 15 June 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk