Canada coach John Herdman targets return to English football
Friday 26 June 2015 12:08, UK
Canada women’s head coach John Herdman is the man tasked with defeating England in the World Cup quarter-finals, but the County Durham native admits he would like to return to English football.
The 39-year-old, who had a brief spell in non-league football with home town side Consett Juniors and Prudhoe Town, moved to New Zealand in 2003 as part of their football development programme.
He took over as coach of the Kiwis' women's side in 2006 and guided them to the World Cup finals of 2007 and 2011 before making the move to Canada, leading the team to a gold-medal finish at the Pan American Games later that year.
“I found my way through the women’s game, I’m having a great experience,” Herdman told Sky Sports News HQ.
“I’ve got over a hundred international matches behind us, this is my seventh world event, a bronze (Olympic) medal in my pocket, a gold medal from a Pan American games - I mean, I’m loving life as a coach.
“The dream is always to go back and coach Newcastle United but I’m not sure owner Mike Ashley will look at a guy who’s coaching in the Canadian women’s team as a potential suitor for that role.”
As a coach without a professional playing CV, Herdman admitted it was difficult to break into the top leagues.
“I started to realise, as a young coach, without the playing background, it’s hard to push on,” he said. “And that’s not looking for a crutch.
"I just think generally, ex-players should be given opportunities to become coaches because it’s what they know, they’ve developed that all their lives.
“So I have no remorse or no anger towards that system. I just encourage coaches to not use that as an excuse, to just go find your way in the game.”
And as he plots a gameplan for Canada this weekend, it will be up to England midfielder Jill Scott and her team-mates to subdue their opponents’ impressive midfield and progress through to the final four of the competition.
“It’s going to be a battle of tactics, individual play, and we’re very confident that we can come out on top but it’s not going to be easy,” Scott said. “It’s going to be very difficult from minute one to full time, maybe even extra time.”
