Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink played under some of the world’s most successful managers – but as he sets out to attain the UEFA Pro Licence, the former Chelsea striker stresses his desire to stick to his own principles.
The Burton Albion boss is one of 24 new candidates who started the FA-run Pro Licence course at St. George’s Park this week.
And although he benefited from the knowledge of respected managers such as Guus Hiddink and Louis van Gaal during an 18-year playing career, Hasselbaink is keen to accentuate his own coaching ideals.
“The learning process is ongoing. It never stops.”
Hasselbaink on coaching
He said: “I have had lots of coaches and managers, who have big standards and who have won a lot, but I don’t want to be them because I will fail.
“I want to be my own person and to have my own beliefs. I have to find a way to be me, but with the guidelines of the things that I have been taught.
“The learning process is ongoing. It never stops. Every day when you wake up you have to be prepared and open to learn. If you’re not I don’t think you will succeed in this industry.”
The former Dutch international is joined on the Pro Licence course, the highest attainable coaching qualification, by a host of coaches, managers, youth development experts as well as current and former professional players including Phil Neville, Scott Parker and Brad Friedel.
Some former footballers speak of the frustration that accompanies the transition from pitch to dugout, but not Hasselbaink.
The 42-year-old added: “The transition to management has actually been ok.
“I’ve been finished as a player for six or seven years now, so it gave me a bit of time to begin to prepare.
“I didn’t do any coaching when I was a player. The majority of footballers think playing is never going to end. I could have played on for another year, but after Cardiff City we couldn’t agree a new deal so all of a sudden it just ended. So I took a couple of years out and then I started to do my coaching badges.
“I have been coaching at Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and other places before Burton, so it has not been as hard as I thought it would be.”
This week the latest intake of would-be Pro Licence coaches have been immersed in three days of learning at the national football centre, including an insightful presentation from Burnley manager, and former Pro Licence graduate, Sean Dyche.
