Davey looking to Anfield stage to show off his youthful promise

Louise Taylor Friday February 15, 2008 The Guardian

Young, bright, British and all badged-up, Simon Davey will take his seat in Anfield's away dug-out tomorrow aiming to repay the faith of those who have labelled him the next David Moyes.
The proud possessor of every conceivable coaching qualification including the Uefa pro-licence, Barnsley's 37-year-old manager knows that upsetting Liverpool's FA Cup progress would confirm his status as something of a poster boy among a new generation of home-grown coaches hoping to challenge foreign managers for the top Premier League jobs.
"To pit our wits against Rafa Benítez is a massive opportunity for me and my staff," Davey said in his Welsh lilt as he stood in a drizzle at Oakwell yesterday. If Barnsley encounter inclement weather today, though, they will have the option of using indoor facilities belonging to Liverpool's fiercest rivals. "David's kindly letting us prepare at Everton's training ground so we might get a few tips," joked Davey, who has been mentored by Moyes since they became team-mates at Preston.
By the time a freak pre-season accident with a medicine ball - "I prolapsed a disc in my back and that was that" - ended Davey's playing career 10 years ago, Everton's current manager was in charge at Deepdale and proved responsible for throwing the crocked midfielder a lifeline.
"I was 27, I had three very young children, all under four, a mortgage to pay, no coaching qualifications and, after spending my career in the lower divisions - at Swansea, Carlisle and Preston - very little money in the bank," Davey said. "Footballers are supposed to be at their peak at 27 - although if you'd seen me play you might not have agreed - and having to retire came as a massive blow.
"I suddenly had no job and it was a very difficult time but David Moyes pulled me aside one day and said: 'There's a youth coaching role for you here.' He then set me on the road to getting my coaching badges and, although it took me eight years, I've got the lot now.
"The injury has probably helped my managerial career; it's given me a head start, I'm almost 10 years ahead of a lot of people my age in terms of coaching experience. It's probably no coincidence that a lot of successful managers had their playing careers ended early."
Not that his horizon seemed remotely bright at the time. "When I finished playing I was wondering where the next pay cheque was coming from but David gave me that next cheque and I thank him very much for that; he's always been there for me.
"He gave me an opportunity and I learnt a lot from him, I try to take a lot of David's standards, his intensity and his hard work into my coaching here. I try to emulate him. It's no surprise he's doing so well at Everton, he was always going to the top."
Having gradually risen to assume charge of Preston's academy, Davey was poached to perform the same role at Oakwell but found himself elevated to caretaker manager following Andy Ritchie's sacking in November 2006 and, after performing minor miracles to keep Barnsley in the Championship last season, subsequently signed a four-year contract.
He remains far too streetwise to believe that document gives him security. "The Championship's a difficult league to work in and, as a manager, you're always six or seven games from the sack," Davey, whose team look comfortable in mid-table, said. "You've got to live with that and your family has to live with it."
Astutely assembled on a shoestring budget, his squad will be weakened by the loss of three experienced, but Cup-tied, players in Jon Macken, Lewin Nyatanga and Tony Warner tomorrow. The latter's absence means Luke Steele should make his debut in goal at Anfield having arrived on loan from West Bromwich Albion, where he was the third-choice goalkeeper, yesterday.
"This Cup tie will be a pinnacle of a lot of my players' careers," acknowledged Davey who, growing up in Swansea, supported Liverpool from afar, idolising Kenny Dalglish. "I want them to relish it and make sure they do themselves and the club proud. It's an afternoon I'm going to enjoy."
Should he also succeed in reminding the game's grandees that the Championship houses some promising British managers, Moyes will be odds-on favourite to send the first congratulatory text.