Academy manager Dean Wright took on his role at Playford Road in July and TWTD caught up with him earlier in the week to ask how his first five months at the club have progressed.

Wright was appointed in the summer as the successor to Lee O’Neill having been working at Norwich City as head of coaching/assistant academy manager since following sporting director Stuart Webber from Huddersfield in 2017.

In the first part of an exclusive TWTD interview, Wright reflected on his first few months at the club and the academy he inherited.

“All good, there’s been a lot to get through to start with, as you can imagine,” he said “Trying to get to know everybody and the club is obviously in a bit of transition with loads of things going on.

“Coming in in the middle of that has been really good, but a challenge as well to get round everything and make sure we keep things moving, taking the time to look at what’s going on but also not standing still and keeping things moving.

“I think we’re in a decent spot now, things are starting to be put into place. We’re not there yet but we’re starting to fill some gaps that we had with staff members in particular and start to implement some of the stuff that I want to put into place, which all takes time. I knew that it wasn’t going to happen overnight.

“But we’re in a good spot now from starting at the back end of July, pretty much when pre-season was done and everything had started and the season was on the verge of starting.

“Coming into that when things are already going is never easy, but it’s been good. Everyone’s been really welcoming. It’s a great time to be joining the club and being part of what’s going on here. We’re in a good spot, I think.”

Wright, who has a UEFA A licence, didn’t have a playing career and began his coaching career in his home town.

“I had an injury really young that put pay to anything like that,” he recalled. “So I started coaching really early in the Salford in Manchester where I’m from and then that became a bit of part-time work with Manchester FA that led to a bit of stuff with Bury, doing the centre of excellence as it was then.

“And then the academy system changed in 2011/12 when centres of excellence didn’t exist anymore and everyone became an academy at different categories.

“And from doing the centre of excellence and schools and all that and community type coaching, which is an unbelievable grounding in coaching, to be fair, in terms of learning your trade, I was lucky enough to get into the academy full-time.

“I moved from Bury to Huddersfield, which was where I met the people that I went to Norwich with. I was there for about a year and a half and was there when they chose to recategorise their academy, so went through all that sort of stuff there, which was a unique experience of being told on a Friday afternoon that they didn’t want the academy in its current format anymore and going through that change.

“So that led to the end at Huddersfield, but then Stuart, who was at Huddersfield, had gone to Norwich and myself and someone else followed him down there.

“And then I spent five years at Norwich in the head of coaching/assistant academy manager role, so was across most things to do with the academy there.

“And probably when we started there were in a very similar situation, I would say, a club in a little bit of transition and a bit of change.

“That came to an end in the summer in terms of me probably being ready for the next step personally, so I left on really good terms, am still friends with the people there, no issues whatsoever.

“But the opportunity to join a club like this in this particular role was the next thing in my career that I wanted to do and the opportunity came and I grabbed it with both hands, really. To join this type of club at a time like this is hopefully going to be a good move for me.”

What did he make to the health of the academy when he came in? “Without knowing too much of the ins and outs of the club, from being in and around it now, I would say it mirrored a lot of the stuff around the club, that things had probably just slid a little bit over time.

“I don’t think there was anything particularly wrong or a particular event or anything that had happened, just generally it had been a little bit unloved and not maybe had as much attention as it needs.

“And was probably just in need of fresh impetus, a bit of energy and enthusiasm and a bit of ‘Come on, let’s get this going again’. It’s obviously a massive football club with a long tradition of producing players so there are really good things already in place.

“A lot of the stuff I’ve done is probably just trying to reignite things that are there. We’ve got good people, the training ground’s really good, we’re really fortunate to have as much space and the quality of facility that we’ve got.

“I think from my point of view it’s reigniting some of that stuff but also adding a different perspective.

“I’m from a different part of the country, I’ve worked in different parts of the country, I’ve worked at all different types of clubs from clubs in League Two, I was in the Premier League with Huddersfield and Norwich, so I’ve got a bit of a range of different experiences and seeing a fair bit of different stuff.

“And have worked in systems that produce players, which ultimately is what I think we’re here to do.

“So hopefully also being able to add a bit of my own experience and what I’ve seen at different clubs to add to the good stuff that’s already here.

“I think there have been loads of little bits that are probably quick wins in terms of just getting things to a level and trying to match the energy that’s with the club at the moment, just updating and improving or looking at everything that we can do better.

“I think there’s been a little bit of that, but building on what’s already some good stuff that’s in place, and good people.

“That’s where we’re up to. We’ve made a start, there have been a few little bits of change in and around the training ground, there are a couple of new people that have come in that have helped with myself with a bit of new energy and a different perspective from being at other places.

“And then the next bit is where we get on with what we’re here to do. Once it settles down it’s like, ‘Right, let’s get going’. I’m very much in that mode at the moment that we’ve done a little bit of stuff but I think the good bit is to come.

“There’s been a little bit of putting things in place and sorting stuff out, once it is in place is when we will properly get started with what we’re here to do.”

He says he wouldn’t have taken the job if the academy wasn’t viewed as a significant by the Blues' Gamechanger 20 ownership group.

“I wouldn’t be sat here if it wasn’t an important part of the strategy and an important part of the future of the club,” he said.

“The clubs that I’ve worked for have had varying levels of enthusiasm towards youth development, and that was the thing at Huddersfield, they didn’t have any enthusiasm towards youth development, which was why we moved on.

“The club that I’ve left recently has a massive emphasis on youth and the academy is a core central part of what they do there.

“And in the discussions as I was coming across here, they were the types of thing that were important to me - is that going to be the same here? Are we going to have that level of enthusiasm and backing towards the academy and the youth department? That's 100 per cent is evident in my first few months at the club, the club is taking this seriously and want it to be a core part of what we do.

“We’ve obviously got to get it to a level and make sure it’s productive and we have good players, it’s not a charity, it’s not there to give gifts. The first-team manager will never just hand out debuts for the sake of it because that affects him and his team.

“We’ve got to produce players that are good enough, but if they are good enough I do genuinely believe that they will get an opportunity here and that’s starting to happen already, I would like to think.”

Further instalments of our interview with Town's new academy manager will be posted in the days to come.

Photo: TWTD

Dissboyitfc added 14:52 - Dec 9 A good signing!!
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MyBlueHeaven added 16:51 - Dec 9 Can anyone give an indication of Klug's role these days? With the additions and changes in recent months I'm wondering how and where he fits in. No doubt playing an important role but what exactly?
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PhilTWTD added 17:30 - Dec 9 Bryan's still there, I've another piece I'll put out next week about some of the staff changes.
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MyBlueHeaven added 12:35 - Dec 10 Cheers, Phil. Not seen it anywhere but would be interesting to see a direct comparison of roles at the club, Evans vs Gamechanger, for football and non-football depts. Could that be part of the feature?
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