Former Nottingham Forest first-team coach Steve Reid has explained why he made the decision to leave the club, even after promotion to the Premier League.
The ex-defender announced that he was stepping back from his role at the City Ground in the summer, after helping Steve Cooper to lead the club back to the top division via the Championship play-offs. Reid had arrived at the club under former manager Chris Hughton.
The 41-year-old took caretaker charge of the side before the appointment of Cooper in September 2021. His one game in charge saw the Reds come out as 2-0 winners over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium.
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Reid left the club in order to pursue a different career in which he aims to help people “improve their mental well-being, confidence and leadership.” The former Republic of Ireland international later revealed that he was offered the role of loans manager at another club following his departure from Forest, which he turned down.
The former Reds coach has again opened up on his decision to turn his back on coaching a Premier League side, and explained the reasons behind why he made the decision to walk away and pursue another avenue.
“I think it just comes down to that doing something that I want to do, not doing it for the expectation of others,” he told the Mental Health Monday podcast .
“I think that’s the main issue, not just in football, I think in life in general in all sorts of environments, who are you doing it for? Is it right for you? Is it what you want to do, or are you just doing it to please others, to fit a mould, to go ahead with the expectations?
“I just decided, you know what, I want to pursue this a little bit further. I thought about it long enough and I didn’t want to look back in a few years time and have any regrets and think ‘have I wasted another few years where I can be on this different path?
“And ultimately as well, who knows what might happen down the line, somewhere in the future. I won’t shut the door on anything but at this moment in time, the decision was the right one for me and my family. It was another big factor, I lived away from my family for four years of the last seven. Two years I’ve been at Nottingham Forest I was living away from home six nights of the week, so why the kids are just young enough I wanted to keep hold of them and be around them, and actually be a better person, a better dad around them, not a person whose moods and behaviours are dictated to by the football world and results.”
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