They say 24 hours is a long time in football but, even with his vast experience, Mike Phelan must still be pinching himself about Tuesday’s turn of events. Back in his home town while he takes a break from sporting director duties at the Australian side Central Coast Mariners, the 56-year-old took up an invitation to take a coaching session at Burnley College before answering questions from students about his experiences as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United.
“One of the students asked him what his dream job would be and he said it would be to be coaching in front of 70,000 people again, so whether he had already had that conversation I don’t know,” says Ash Aldersen, Burnley College’s academy of sport and elite athlete manager. “But it’s a dream come true for him. He said he’d come back from Australia just for Christmas, so I suppose he’s had an early present returning to United.”
Born in nearby Nelson, Phelan made almost 150 appearances for Burnley before joining Norwich in 1985. But it was at Old Trafford that he enjoyed his most successful period as a player, helping Ferguson end United’s 26-year wait for the league title in 1993, before returning as a coach six years later. He was promoted to assistant manager in 2008 when Carlos Quieroz left to take over Portugal and won six Premier League titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup.
But after disappointing spells at Norwich as a coach and then Hull, where he was sacked as manager after less than three months, Phelan could have been forgiven for feeling forgotten until he received the call from United asking him to become interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s assistant in the wake of José Mourinho’s departure.
“We didn’t get much of an inkling about it either,” admits Aldersen. “But he was really professional in what he said about Manchester United and the ethos Sir Alex Ferguson created at the club. He actually said it was a very similar approach to what we have at Burnley College, which was fantastic. We have a big support network around the students to try to get the best from them. The level of his coaching was outstanding – you can tell it is something he really has a passion for.”
With 50 A-Level students who are also academy elite level sportsmen and women, the college has become renowned for its innovative approach to helping aspiring athletes reach their potential through tailored development programmes including nutrition and psychology. The British hammer thrower Charlotte Williams and the Doncaster Rovers goalkeeper Marko Marosi are just two of those to have progressed to the highest level, the latter benefiting from being coached by the former Burnley players Andy Payton and Gerry Harrison.
They were also in attendance for Phelan’s masterclass on Tuesday, with United’s new assistant manager – employed in what he has called a “dual role” alongside his job at Central Coast Mariners – outlining some of his coaching philosophies in a special lecture.
“My husband has texted me saying, ‘Woah he’s in Burnley College one day and then Manchester United the next’ – but it’s more seeing the students’ reaction to him,” says the principal, Karen Buchanan. “They absolutely loved it.”
Phelan was also intrigued by the technology provided for students by the college’s new drone. “We’ve been using that information to show the students their positioning and to give them some tactical pointers,” Aldersen says. “He asked quite a few questions about that and stayed until well into the afternoon. He just wanted more really.”
