'Back among friends': Hugely popular Portsmouth title-winning pair reunite in League Two
A pair of popular Pompey title-winners have reunited for the next stage of their football careers - at Salford.
Gareth Evans has taken his first steps into coaching after joining the League Two club’s Academy set-up in January.
The former winger, who studied his Uefa B licence during his time at Fratton Park, has linked up with Salford’s under-13s, coaching the youngsters three nights a week.
He was recruited by fellow League Two title winner Danny Rose, who was appointed as the club’s head of Academy coaching in December after leaving Swindon.
The busy Evans, who combines the role with working for Sky Sports, is also back on the south coast twice in May. He’s lined up to feature in Alan Knight’s charity match (May 5), while is joining Brett Pitman for a Pompey Q&A evening at the Gaiety Bar (May 21).
And he’s loving the career change since hanging up his boots last summer at the age of 36.
He told The News: ‘Danny realised I was close by in Manchester and asked whether I fancied going down and putting on a session or two.
‘It was a bit of a we’ll have a look at you and you can see if you enjoy it. I kept turning up and have been doing it for three months now, I love it.
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‘It’s the first foot in the door with coaching and it’s interesting to see how it works, especially with the administration side to it these days. It’s not just a case of being out on the pitch with a whistle around your neck, there’s a load of session planning, debriefing and individual development plans.
‘It has opened my eyes to a different aspect of coaching, I’ve ended up experiencing things which I didn’t even know were part of coaching. In terms of session planning, it is all online now, using certain websites and apps, so it’s getting your head around that has been quite interesting.
‘There are 14-15 players in the under-13s and every six weeks each player gets a review and an update on how they’re progressing, so I have also been overseeing those.
‘It works like traffic lights. If you are in danger you’re on red, if you are doing okay then you are on orange, and if you are a high performer you are on green.
‘I’ve really enjoyed it. With Danny it’s like being back among friends - and I’m seeing where I can go with it.’
Revealing the truth behind closed doors
He will then be back on the south coast with former Blues team-mate Pitman on Wednesday, May 21 for a special Q&A evening at the Gaiety Bar, South Parade Pier.
And the player who made 218 appearances and scored 38 times for the Blues, winning the League Two title and Checkatrade Trophy, has promised a night of nostalgia - and complete honesty!
Evans added: ‘We’ve got a few interesting tales which fans haven’t heard before, things that went on behind closed doors which we weren’t able to talk about.
‘There are some funny stories from enjoyable times we want to look back on - and we want to tell the fans about them.
‘We’ll say it as it is. We always have done, to be honest, but there have obviously been times where I've not been able to say what I’ve wanted because I have been linked with the club.’
Tickets for the Alan Knight charity match can be booked here.
Tickets for An Evening with Gareth Evans and Brett Pitman can be booked here.
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