Ex-Preston North End defender Sean St Ledger’s steep learning curve

Sean St Ledger was thrown in at the deep end when it came to coaching, coming to the aid of Guiseley shortly after his return to England.

Having spent time in America playing for Orlando City, ex-PNE defender St Ledger initially returned to play for his local side Solihull Moors in the National League, before moving on to fellow fifth tier outfit Guiseley.

Since taking up coaching, the 35-year-old has on a fast learning curve.

Speaking to the Lancashire Post, he said: “I came back and one of my friends, Darren Carter who used to play at Preston, was at Solihull at the time and I just asked if I could come and do training.

“They asked me if I wanted to play and I said I’d love to, I signed and then the manager at the time left after two days.

“After that I went to Guiseley and they sacked the manager. The chairman, who was a lovely guy and loved the football club, asked if I would take over. I was one of the most experienced players there so I did it. It was tough but I really enjoyed the experience.

“Since then I’ve gone on to take my UEFA B licence, my UEFA A licence and hopefully I’ll do my pro licence in the near future.

“I’m working with Leicester as well doing scouting, that’s my main role, but I’m fortunate that I’m able to do the coaching on the side.

“I’m coaching with Ireland’s Under-15s at the moment as one of the coaches, which is a really good insight into elite performance.

“Our last three games we’ve come up against Spain, Holland and Czech Republic.

“It’s great to see the level of our boys in Ireland compared to the boys that come here, and what we need to do as a nation to get our players up to the level of the Spanish, the Dutch and the Czech players.”

A former Republic of Ireland international, St Ledger is glad to see a strong Irish representation in the current PNE squad.

Both Sean Maguire and Alan Browne are full internationals, whilst Adam O’Reilly and Jimmy Corcoran in the academy have represented the boys in green at youth level.

“Preston over the years have been so successful with Irish players, there was Kevin Kilbane and Stephen Elliott,” he said. “Maguire and Browne will be a part of the new generation of Mick McCarthy’s team I would imagine, if we can get to the Euros.

“Ireland is a really good market for players because of what they bring as characters and the technical ability also.

“But as people there is the attitude of ‘never say die’ and ‘never give up’ that I think is a good attribute to have as a footballer.”

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