Alan Lee has revealed how his fledgling coaching career got off to the best possible start before reality quickly set in.
Lee, doubling as an academy coach and member of manager Mick McCarthy’s senior squad, said: "I passed my first [coaching] assessment with flying colours and because I had not done a lot of coaching in the past, my examiner said I was a natural.
"I thought ‘I’ve cracked it, I’m a great coach’ so I volunteered to do the next assessment on the course and by the time I was halfway through it I could not even remember my own name. I realised there was so much to learn.
"But it’s the same for any player or coach. The day you stop learning is when you go wrong. I want a career in coaching and possibly management but that’s a long way into the future.
"There’s so much more to it, like the extra hours of preparation and realising that lads chatting when you are talking IS really annoying. I was one of them when I was younger. I was never trouble but I can see now that if the players are not enthusiastic about what you are doing it can be a problem.
"I realise I need a lot of experience to be a good coach. I want to be the best coach I can be before I think of anything else, like being a manager in the future. At the moment I’m still hoping to get a run-out as a player.
"My 19 or 20 years’ playing experience helps but there are a whole different range of skills that you have to learn and master as a coach.”