Clarets turn to Stone
Nine weeks after Michael Duff departed to become the new manager of Cheltenham Town, Burnley have appointed his replacement as under-23 coach with former Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Leeds and England winger Steve Stone joining some of his former team mates at Turf Moor.
Stone had a terrific playing career with Forest for whom he played over 200 games, and he also played nine times for England before moving on to his other clubs and retiring in 2006 after an injury plagued time at Leeds.
He was at Burnley on a temporary basis during the summer, standing in while Tony Loughlan recovered from him surgery, and he said today that it had proved to be of benefit. He said: “Walking into a new football club and having to learn everything from scratch can be difficult sometimes.
“I’ve obviously got a heads up on what’s going on and now I’m looking forward to using the licence I have to go on and do the job I’ve been brought in to do. Football’s in your blood, it never leaves you. I had two years out of the game when I retired ten or twelve years ago and you feel yourself itching to get back in. It’s what you do, and this is another great opportunity for me to get back in.
“I’m excited, not for me to do the job, but I’m excited to see what I can bring through. I’ve had my playing career and now it’s my time to get other players to have theirs.”
He added: “I think the job will take time, but Jon Pepper and Faz (Andy Farrell), and Duffo before that, have done a great job the way the team is playing at the minute. The key is, over the years, to fill the gap from where these lads are now, where most of them are young men at 19 years of age, to get them up to 21 and to get them near or around the first team. That’s my key role.”
Stone’s first game in charge will be next Monday when we play his former club Nottingham Forest at Curzon Ashton.
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