It’s often said that life experience is the best teacher a person can ask for.
Luckily for aspiring coach Ryan Flynn, he’s seen how one of the finest managers of the 21st century operated in the shape of former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez.
St Mirren midfielder Flynn started his youth career at Falkirk before earning a dream switch to Anfield back in 2005.
While he couldn’t break into the Liverpool first team, he was still fortunate enough to work with Benitez in a period when he led the The Reds to FA Cup and Champions League glory.
Nearly 20 years later, Saints fans’ favourite Flynn is now coming towards the end of his eventful playing career and is taking his first steps towards coaching in Paisley.
And the self-professed student of the game revealed he’d take lessons from all of his former bosses, including Benitez, Nigel Clough and former St Mirren manager Jack Ross, when the time does eventually come to hang up his boots.
Flynn told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “I have worked with plenty of managers over the years and obviously they were all different.
“I have always been interested in the coaching side of things. Some of the managers were more motivators or man managers.
“When I was a kid at Liverpool I spent a lot of time with the first team. Rafa Benitez took every coaching session and that opened my eyes to things straight away.
“He was big on pressing and hitting on the counter-attack. He showed you that it wasn’t all about free-flowing football, you had to be organised.
“I learned loads at that time and when I started to play first-team football I had more motivators.
“Dean Wilkins was a coach at Sheffield United under Nigel Adkins and he was big on tactics.
“Nigel Clough was very much a motivator and we had a good spell under him there, and caused a few cup upsets. That was down to the way he created a team spirit and motivated the players.
“I worked under Jack Ross at St Mirren and his man management was superb. The way he made players feel before games was great.
“I have definitely learned something from every manager I have had.
“I still enjoy my football and I am not looking to retire just yet. I feel I am capable of playing for a while and I don’t want to go too deep into coaching just yet. I still want to play, but I am enjoying getting a wee taste of coaching.”
Another manager that Flynn will take a lot of lessons from when he does eventually retire from playing is current Saints boss Stephen Robinson.
Robinson revealed earlier this week he believes the 34-year-old midfielder has all the skills required to make an “excellent” coach in the future.
Having already started working with the Paisley club’s academy director Allan McManus, Flynn is grateful for the opportunities Robinson has given him this season both on and off the field.
Flynn said: “It’s nice to see the gaffer saying nice things about me. He has been great with me and he has always been honest.
“When I signed on last season I knew it would be reduced minutes for me, but I have kept myself ready for when he needs me. As a player you want to play more, but I knew what the situation was and what my role would be.
“The club has been great with me since I arrived and at my age I will assess things at the end of the season.
“If the gaffer said about a similar deal for next year then I would be interested in what he has to say.
“I worked with him at Oldham too and his tactics and coaching are second to none.
“He has us so well organised and he has the man management side too.
“The gaffer and Diarmuid O’Carroll have us so well drilled and I look at how he works and drills things into us.
“But when I see what management is like, I don’t think I would stop playing and go straight into management.
“I think what I am doing right now is good and I can learn by working with the academy. I really enjoy that. Until you try your hand at it, you don’t know whether you will like it or not.
“When the time comes, I’ll think back to all of the gaffers I have worked with in the past and take things from all of them.”
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