Blackwell joins Reid's revolution

Blackwell was a major influence in bringing young England stars Phil Jagielka and Michael Tonge through at Brammall Lane and now he relishing the chance of working with the likes of James Milner and Aaron Lennon, not to mention Senior internationals Alan Smith, Paul Robinson and Danny Mills.

"They're exceptional players and I'm looking forward to working with them," said Blackwell. "You don't have to teach international players the basics, it's just giving them the confidence to be able to produce what they know they can."

Leeds two hugely skilful young forwards James Milner and Aaron Lennon, both capped by England at Under-17 level, will also be coached by Blackwell. You can understand why he's rubbling his hands at the prospect.

"I watched Leeds' reserve and youth games quite a few times this year and hopefully Milner and Lennon can progress," he added.

Blackwell believes that Leeds are geared up to produce many more young England internationals. He said: "With a club of this size and stature and with the academy facilities they've got here, I would expect to see players in the England Under-17 and Under-18 sides."

The Leeds lads can certainly look at the development of England Under-21 pair Phil Jagielka and Michael Tonge as two examples to follow.

"I have major hopes for those two to go all the way," commented Blackwell. "Jagielka was the one I felt would progress quite quickly once he established himself and he did just that. I know there's a lot of interest in him from Premiership clubs right now.

"Tonge's a year younger than Jags and he's still coming to terms with the physical side of the game. But I have to say he played 58 games last season of which 25 of those were very high profile and he's come through brilliantly."

And Blackwell is also tipping England youth duo Jonathan Forte and Ian Ross to be the next home-grown players to make the first-team grade at Bramall Lane.

"If the club wasn't doing as well and could blood a couple of youngsters, they might have some sort of cameo role later on in the year," he said. "The better the club does, the standard raises and expectations of the team are such that you don't want to put kids under too much pressure."

Former goalkeepers are under-represented in the coaching fraternity, but as a one-time shot-stopper himself, Blackwell insists there is no reason why that should be the case.

"I think keepers become pigeon-holed and maybe some people don't think they understand the game as well as outfield players. But for me personally as a goalkeeper, you knew what a striker had to do to hurt you, you knew what your defenders need to do to help you and you knew how midfield players would hurt you by coming into the box late.

"I think you've got a great understanding if you've got an open mind. Italy's Dino Zoff, for example, has been a top manager and he was a goalkeeper."

The trend looks like changing with more keepers choosing to stay in the game once they have hung up their gloves.

"Look at all the courses The FA is running now and there are quite a lot of goalkeepers on them," Blackwell points out. "More and more goalkeepers are understanding the game now and putting the work in. Most keepers are very dedicated and that's a very big thing."

Blackwell himself is reaping the rewards of the work he put in to gain the UEFA 'A' coaching badge and successfully complete the UEFA 'A' goalkeeping course. "I was maybe the first to gain two UEFA 'A' badges in the country," he says.

"I can't knock what The FA has done for me. It's been invaluable to go on the courses. I knew what I was doing at the ground and when I went on the courses I thought: 'Yes, now I know what they mean by that'. It cemented my ideas and helped me structure my sessions a little better.

"What I'd like to see now is for lesser-known coaches being given opportunities to progress in the game and I think that's important. It's alright having all these badges, but you have to allow people to progress as well."

Leeds boss Peter Reid gave Blackwell his big chance after being impressed with the way he helped Sheffield United reach the First Division play-off final and the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Worthington Cup.

The approach from Reid came as a big surprise to Blackwell. "I didn't know Peter and I had no connection with him or Leeds United in any way shape or form.

"It was particularly pleasing for me to be head-hunted and for people to recognise what I've been doing. Peter spoke to quite a few managers and players and they all endorsed what I've been doing.

"It's something I've worked for and I'm just delighted to be able to work in the Premiership."


Kevin Blackwell - Stat Pack

Nationality: English
Place of Birth: Luton
Date of Birth: 21/12/1958
Playing Career: Barnet, Scarborough Town, Notts County, Torquay Utd, Huddersfield Town, Plymouth Argyle 
Current Club: Leeds (coach)