Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has claimed that he would love to be a coach at the club in the future.
The Englishman spent 12 years at Old Trafford and played 229 times for United, winning two Premier League medals.
The defender suffered immensely from injury problems throughout his whole career and had to eventually retire in 2023, with the 2018-19 season the last year he played any sort of meaningful minutes.
Jones has since enrolled in the UEFA Pro Licence course. He has also worked with United’s academy and has been involved in the under 18s run to the FA Cup Youth Cup semi-final.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times while on a trip to India, he claimed that he would one day like to coach at senior level at United.
Elaborating on his experience on the FA coaching course he claimed, “it’s an amazing course with the FA. We get some of the top coaches and top managers coming through it.”
“It’s a great networking opportunity, a great chance to be with people who are striving for the same goal.”
When asked about a return to coaching United he claimed there was no rush as he was happy just to learn at the moment but it is something that he has given thought to.
“I’m still developing, still learning as a young coach. Still developing my skills and how to communicate and connect with players. Tactically, too, both on and off the pitch. There are a lot of things I need to improve on. But hopefully, one day.”
He admitted that it has been a “difficult” season for the club and current manager Ruben Amorim, but he was quick to point out that winning the Europa League could do a lot to save their season.
“As difficult as it is on the pitch, we still have something to fight for in the Europa League. There are chances we can still get the Champions League qualification through the Europa League.”
The former defender finished his interview by complimenting the passion of the Indian fans that he has come across while in the country and urged them to stick with the club as there will be “better days ahead for sure.”
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
