Paul Gallagher is preparing to conduct study on the training grounds in order to advance his career as a manager.
Gallagher, 39, left Stoke City over the offseason following one season with the club, where he had two loan periods as a player. He was recruited in by Alex Neil, his former Preston North End manager, and acted as caretaker for two games after Neil’s departure, before working under new head coach Steven Schumacher.He now wants to go out on his own, telling the Lancashire Post: “My next goal is to become a head coach/manager.” I feel like I’ve been teaching for four years, and don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being on the grass with the guys, giving them detail and information, and trying to help them grow.”I’d like to go out and observe other clubs and games, even at the League One and League Two levels, to see how things function. Hopefully, there will come a day when I will have the opportunity to work with a young head coach. I want to be an assertive manager; I believe personality is important. I believe your team must play with personality, and if you set up aggressively without the ball, the opposing team will know they are in for a game.
“I am really open-minded about moving anywhere. I’d only like the opportunity since I believe I can start a team. Tactics were one of my strengths when I played, and I’ve learned a lot about them since transitioning to coaching. However, there is also human resource management. When I had a short stint, I believed it was my responsibility to get the most out of the player and the team.”
Schumacher has hired Chris Cohen to join his coaching staff at Clayton Wood in order to get everything in place before preseason begins next week.
When Gallagher went to Stoke from Preston last year, pre-season had already begun, and he had been training with Schumacher’s best friend Ryan Lowe.
He continued, “I don’t know many people in any line of life who would go an extra hour for less money. So I went to Stoke for reasons other than financial gain. It was an opportunity to collaborate with players of all nations and with varying goals. We signed 19 players, including Korean, Serbian, and Portuguese players. I believe that if you want to be the best coach and manager, you must challenge yourself in these situations.
“It was a club that was obviously in transition, and all I wanted to do was test myself. I want to advance and improve, but leaving Preston was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life and work. My children were in tears because they are Preston fans. They have season tickets and continue to attend games to show their support for the squad. I had greater input since I understood how Alex wanted to play.”
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