Coaching an eye-opener for Shrewsbury defender Matthew Pennington
Matthew Pennington has said completing his coaching badges is helping him to get a better understanding of the game.
The defender has been excellent for Shrewsbury Town so far this season, playing a big part in their good defensive record, while also being a threat at the other end with his four goals.
Centre-back partner Chey Dunkley, who joined the club in the summer, has also started his coaching badges.
The duo have been working with the young players on the Shrewsbury Town pathway to get valuable coaching experience.
And the 28-year-old says coaching is something which he has not done much of before, but he feels the opportunity is benefitting him.
“I have been through the academy system, but I have never coached,” the former Everton man said. “It gives you a big appreciation for what the guys and the staff here do. And all the coaches I have had before.
“It is an opportunity to stand in their shoes a little bit and see what they have to think about and how they get their message across when they have all the information.
“So it is an eye-opener and something I am looking to learn more about, and it is very positive for my game and my understanding of it.”
Pennington is closing in on his 100th appearance for Salop.
Since Steve Cotterill signed him, initially on loan, from Everton back in January 2021.
The defender had spent 15 years with the Toffees, but he made the switch to Montgomery Waters Meadow permanently the following summer signing a two-year deal.
And now he is taking advantage of the youth system at Shrews to get some valuable experience coaching the future generations of Town players.
He said: “It is something I have been thinking about for the last year or two.
“Because I am at Shrewsbury and Davey Longwell has good links with the academy, it allows me to use that as a tool to learn and improve as a coach.
“It is not something I have done before, so I am learning on the job and giving it a go.
“There is a group of us doing our Uefa B license together which we have organised, and hopefully, we will all benefit from that on the pitch as well.”
Speaking ahead of Town’s game with Bolton Wanderers today, Pennington discussed the effect his current boss has had on the way he thinks about the game, saying he is even starting to think like a coach.
He said: “ I have learnt loads since I have been here with the manager, I am learning all the time, the way he talks about the game.
“Even when I go home and watch football on TV I am starting to think the way he might think.
“Which is really good and helps me to help other players.
“It has been really good, and everyone is improving while he is here.”
