AFC Bournemouth
While Gary O’Neil may have enjoyed an unbeaten start to his tenure as AFC Bournemouth’s interim head coach, the same cannot be said for the other team he manages.
Since stepping in at the end of August, O’Neil has presided over three games, draws against Wolves and Newcastle together with a thrilling win against Nottingham Forest.
Before taking the reins, O’Neil, who is first-team coach at Vitality Stadium, put his vast experience to good use by running his son Carter-Jae’s under-nine team.
O’Neil is founder of the NexGen Academy, which is based near the family home in Bromley. It runs summer camps, soccer schools and technical sessions for children aged between three and 12.
And while O’Neil has taken a step back from the academy since his appointment as Cherries’ interim head coach, his last game at the helm of NexGen under-nines ended in defeat.
“That wasn’t good for the CV!” he quipped, when asked about his involvement with NexGen. “It’s my son’s Sunday team, I take it for him.
“It’s not really a role, I watch my little boy play football on a Sunday morning anyway. It’s just he gets me shouting at him rather than somebody else!
“It’s just a small academy that I set up for children where I was brought up. I just felt that was something that would help the children round there.
“It’s benefitted my little boy and loads of other kids in the area and who better to manage my little boy than me!
“They haven’t started their league season yet so it hasn’t crossed over with this at all. I was first-team coach when I was doing the NexGen stuff.
“I am not sure I will be doing too much of it while I am managing the team, but it’s enjoyable. My little boy might say differently, he might not enjoy it! But I enjoy it still.
“The parent conversations are always tough. Fortunately, none of the Bournemouth lads have had their mums and dads ring me to ask why they are not playing yet!”