From coaching in the Championship and working with England’s age-group teams to learning Spanish, Jason Euell is doing everything he can to earn that first opportunity in management but it is a frustrating waiting game for this thoughtful young coach…
Monday 20 May 2024 15:11, UK
“This is the first time in 30 years that I have not been in,” Jason Euell tells Sky Sports. But this former Premier League player turned coach is using his time constructively because he is more determined than ever to pursue a career in management.
Euell is speaking after attending a game on his way to a masterclass at St George's Park before catching another on his way home. He speaks fondly of a recent talk with a sports psychologist working in basketball. "Just another insight," he says.
He is learning Spanish because he believes this could give him an edge. "I am gaining new experiences, trying to give myself more." Given his knowledge and qualifications already, that should not really be necessary. "Is there a frustration? Yes, a little bit."
After over 500 games as a player, three for Jamaica, Euell has embarked on a coaching career, earning the UEFA Pro Licence, working with England at U18 and U20 level and most recently becoming first-team coach at Championship club Bristol City.
He wants to become one of the few Black coaches managing in English football but keeps hearing the same thing. "When it is said that I do not have the experience as a number one, I think of all the experiences that I have had to help me become a number one."
As a development coach at Charlton Athletic, he learned to be flexible. "There were times I did not know which players I would have available for a training session or a game. Players get pulled out last minute. You have to be adaptable while retaining an identity."
It would be easy for Euell to tell prospective employers what they want to hear. "In some interviews, there are certain buzzwords," he says. Everyone talks of playing on the front foot and wanting the ball. He can do that but is keen to stress pragmatism too.
"There are going to be roles where you are going in and the team is struggling. If they are conceding lots of goals, you cannot go in and say, 'I want to play on the front foot.' First and foremost, you need to stop conceding and then build the blocks from there.
"I always played with possession, always played with high energy, because that was getting them ready for first-team football. But I have to come up with a formation to get the best from the players that I have. If that is 4-3-3 then brilliant. If it is 3-5-2 then brilliant."
At Bristol City, he credits Nigel Pearson for exposing him to experiences beyond his coaching role at the club. "He saw his job as helping me to become a manager one day." As a result, Euell's involvement extended far beyond taking the training sessions there.
"If there were things that the manager did not have to deal with, I was there to take it off his plate, whether those were conversations with the academy, with ground staff, around hotel accommodation. Those were all things that he allowed me to be a part of.
"If there was a board meeting, he would encourage me to come in. There were meetings with other departments. That was a big opportunity to see how those conversations were around recruitment and budgets. You don't get that from the courses."
The Euell and Pearson partnership was an unlikely one in some respects, although they had been together at Southampton towards the end of Euell's playing career. "I was not in the team but I had still been a cheerleader for others and that resonated with him."
A contrasting personality was what Pearson wanted at Bristol City. "He brought in a different blend of characters rather than yes men. I was happy to be a pain in the backside who would tell him if I thought he was wrong. He thought that was brilliant," says Euell.
"Culture and environment gets spoken about a lot these days and Nige changed the culture at Bristol City. He changed the atmosphere. It was more inclusive. He opened doors, literally opening the centre-door at the canteen. It should not be us and them.
"The youth team and the women's team saw the men's team every day. The message from him was that we are all in this together. No secrets, no hidden agendas. He wanted people to enjoy their work and enjoy the success. It helps if people want to be there."
Euell's understanding of these ideas explains why it is so jarring to him that he could be considered just a coach as he seeks an opportunity in management. "You are a coach on the grass but you are still a manager because you are managing people," he points out.
At Bristol City, he played a key role in developing players who have gone on to earn their moves to the Premier League. Young midfielder Alex Scott, for example, now at Bournemouth is regarded as a massive prospect destined for bigger things in the game.
"He is a big talent. We worked on upping his numbers because he could play as a No 4 but to play as a No 8 or a No 10 he needed to do more because otherwise there would be players in his position who would be getting better numbers and sneaking ahead of him."
With Antoine Semenyo, who made the same move, it was about consistency. "We knew he had an eye for goal. It was just about decision-making, knowing when to cross or shoot. In the Premier League, if you try to beat your man again, the chance is gone."
Euell goes on to speak warmly about both players and their potential but it is telling that his first thought is to put the focus on where they can improve, demanding more of them. He talks of the social and psychological as well as the tactical and technical.
The lack of opportunities for Black coaches is often framed as a lament for the coaches themselves but one wonders whether the real pity is that some young Black players might be missing out on that coach who could connect with them on a different level.
"It builds an immediate kind of trust," says Euell. "From a Black player's point of view, if I am seeing someone who is the same colour as me, that is a connection right away. That is an elder Black role model who they can look up to and who can help them.
"Yes, I am a role model in a certain capacity, but what is important to me, and I include all people, players and staff, in this, is finding a way to help them develop and become better and successful."
"Would I like to see more Black coaches because I am a Black coach? Yes. But it is more about giving Black players a role model. If coaches can build that connection with their players, it is important because these are people first and players second.
The hope is that he will not have to wait too long for the opportunity to show that he can build those connections. "Once I get the chance, I will be in a better place compared to where I was even a few months ago." Expect Jason Euell to take that chance.
