Friday 26 May 2017 20:04, UK
Harry Kewell insists he is "falling in love with the game on another level" after his appointment at Crawley Town and says he is excited to get started at the "ambitious" club.
The 38-year-old, who won the FA Cup and the Champions League with Liverpool after starting his career at Leeds, has taken over at the Sky Bet League Two side after leaving Watford last month following a two-year spell coaching their youth teams.
Crawley finished 19th in League Two this season but Kewell, a former Australia international who played at two World Cups, says his passion for coaching has grown since retiring as a player and he is now looking forward to getting started in his first job in management.
"Over the last couple of years throughout my experience at Watford coaching I have enjoyed it and the passion is just growing every day and I feel I'm ready to accept this job and ready to really progress my coaching career," he told Sky Sports News HQ.
"It wasn't as a player [I had management on my mind] because I was a strong believer in just concentrating on my job at the time, but as soon as I finished playing football, I started coaching younger levels and then went through my licence and again my passion has grown.
"I'm falling in love with the game on another level and I just really want to go out there now and show people what my mind thinks about football.
"It's a great league to start your career in, but it is a very ambitious club, they have got some good ambitions for the club and they have some great ideas and I have some great ideas so I am really looking forward to it."
Kewell will be assisted by former Newport County boss Warren Feeney and says he is always willing to listen and learn but has faith in his own decisions.
"Obviously, you should always take advice and always be willing to learn, but I am always a believer in my own decisions and I will stick by that, but I will take advice.
"I have a team behind me that I feel confident with so I am supported but, again, it is going to be down to me and my players when we are on the pitch and that is what will determine me and the club."
Blackpool and Exeter meet in the League Two play-off final on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, and Kewell will have to wait two months until the new season starts in August but he says the hard work and preparation for next term has already started.
"It is the start of the first day and from what I know and from what I have experienced, the recruitment side is very big so we have to get that right and we are all working behind the scenes now to get that correct," he added.
