Making a difference

Watford’s new Assistant Manager, Sean Dyche, is a firm believer in education. So much so, that he has enrolled himself on the UEFA Pro Licence, football’s top qualification, in a bid to learn even more about the game.

When Malky Mackay replaced Brendan Rodgers in the Vicarage Road hotseat last month, Dyche was elevated from Reserve Team Manager to Watford's No.2 and he hopes to excel in his new role with the aid of the Pro Licence.

"The stats will tell you [coaching is] a very tough profession," Dyche told TheFA.com, "so when I retired I thought that it was better to educate myself before I went into it, rather than trying to educate myself once I was in it. I know that I’ll learn more as I become more experienced, but why not be as highly-qualified as I can be beforehand?

"When I got to around 30 I started looking at the coaching side of things a bit more seriously. There were a couple of people in the game whose ideas I liked and as you start to mature a bit you think to yourself ‘I can make a difference’ – hopefully! I started my badges towards the end of my career and I was lucky enough to get a coaching job at Watford and thankfully I’ve built on that."

Dyche knows Watford well having starred for the Hornets for a number of seasons. Since his retirement he has looked after the Academy side and he also assisted Mackay when the Scot was instilled as Caretaker Manager in November.

Dyche’s 12-month mission to acquire the Pro Licence is evidence of his hunger for education and as he looks forward to the year ahead, he hopes to be able to incorporate some new ideas and philosophies into his own coaching sessions.

"The course is challenging in many ways but it’s an appropriate challenge," said Dyche, who captained Chesterfield in the 1997 FA Cup Semi-Final at Old Trafford.

"It’s high level thinking across the board. It’s informative and the most enjoyable thing about the course is the knowledge that I'm gaining. Being around people and FA staff that have been in the game longer than I have and learning from them is absolutely fantastic.

"Whatever session or lesson we’re covering you’ll discover one little thing that you can add to your armoury."