Wolves coach Shaun Derry on controlling aggression as a coach and missing his playing days
When you think of former midfielder Shaun Derry, you think of football’s tough guys.
Alongside the likes Duncan Ferguson, Vinnie Jones, Stuart Pearce or Wolves’ own Kevin Muscat, Derry’s reputation precedes him as a no-nonsense, tough-tackling old-school footballer.
With a playing career that spanned almost 20 years at eight different clubs – including Crystal Palace, Leeds, QPR and home-town side Notts County – the silver-haired enforcer was known for his no-nonsense approach. A player you’d love to have on your side, but one you’d hate to come up against.
Derry played in 53 Premier League games in his career, with one goal, as the majority of his time was played in the second tier.
A career in management and coaching has followed and, as he sits back in his chair in the press conference room at Wolves’ Compton training ground, his eyes light up as he remembers his duelling days.
“I miss playing every day,” Derry told the Express & Star.
“I get asked this question quite a bit, what do I miss about the game, and it is the game. I miss that duel, that competitive nature of going up against an opponent who had the same objectives as me and playing the game.
“I don’t miss certain parts of the game. I’m not one to say that I really miss the dressing room and all the quirkiness and quips that go off in a dressing room, because I’ve heard them all! I heard the same jokes at 22 that I was hearing at 32, so I don’t really miss that side of it.
“The camaraderie of a game, thankfully, is something we can still get as a coach because you still have your own team around you.
“But I miss the game. I miss being fit and miss being able to do things that maybe my body can’t do at the minute.
“As time goes on my joys come from different things, like watching the players achieving their aims and ambitions. It’s brilliant to watch them develop.”
That aggression that he showed as a player remains with him as a coach, too.
