A nudge into coaching

He began coaching at Shrewsbury Town after signing up to take his UEFA B Licence, and joined Histon as David Livermore’s first-team player-coach for the strikers.

"It was a gentle nudge into coaching,” he says. From there he was player-manager at Cheshunt, coach and subsequently caretaker manager at Leyton Orient, academy coach and later assistant at Watford, and a coach for England’s junior teams at under-16 and under-17 level.

"The players that we’ve nurtured and created over the course of the last ten years with England have been phenomenal. During my time, the players that have come through and are still coming through now, they’ve all got special talents. Some might not get there and have longevity in the game as pros, they can fall short for other reasons.

"But working in that environment, working with very good coaches, very good S&Cs, very good physios, everyone is very good at their job, and we all come together well to make sure that that the players get the best education that they can get alongside trying to create a winning mentality environment, alongside trying to pick the crop that will potentially push up to get into the senior squad, which is what it really is all about.”

Omer looks for maturity in young players as a tell-tale sign that they have what it takes to make it as a professional.

"I remember with Kobbie Mainoo, he came in, and he had an element of maturity to him as a person, not just as a player. His game was very mature, but he was actually a really mature boy as well. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens has quite a mature head.

“These players have all got a maturity about them. They’re either physically mature or they are mentally mature in their game, and I think that is key. All the players have got talent. They’ve all got exceptional technical ability, or they’ve got an exceptional talent in respect of physical prowess or technical, tactical, but I think the ones that really do kick on for me is the maturity in their game and the maturity in them as characters.”

The importance of non-league

Reflecting on his time coaching at different levels, he says: “It teaches you how to coach differently, how to manage certain situations differently in scenarios. [At non-league level] you’ve got young players that are still trying to become professionals. Playing games is what gives them the experience; you can give them half a chance to maybe step up again.

“Then there are the senior players who have to work [a day job] and are tired and maybe can’t train and you’re managing your groups and you’re managing your numbers.

"Non-league is still a really important place for our football, especially in the UK in respect of youngsters now who can’t find the professional football they’re looking for - the pathway to be able to go and play at 17, 18, 19, rack up the performances, and become more attractive to clubs when you’ve played 150 games at non-league than you have playing under-21s in a Category One Academy.”

“I’ve always worked really hard whatever environment I’m in, giving 100% to the job that’s at task, still thinking about where I want to progress to and where I want to get to”

Continual learning, refinement of abilities, and further development are all very important to him. His target is to be a head coach in the Premier League or an equivalent top-tier competition, and to win trophies. His experience as a player and a coach thus far has prepared him well.

“I’ve always had a resilience about me. It has been built over time, but there is a resilience to say, ‘You know what? No one’s going to tell me that I can’t do something.’

“My character and application has always been good. I’ve always worked really hard whatever environment I’m in, giving 100% to the job that’s at task, still thinking about where I want to progress to and where I want to get to, but by trying to do the best job I can do for the environment that I’m in, for the people that I’m working for.”