Paul Ritchie made the odd detour during his playing days so there should be no surprise that he is starting his coaching career off the beaten track.

The former Hearts and Scotland defender is in America, not plying his trade in Major League Soccer but at a step down from the big leagues.

Carolina RailHawks in the United States Soccer Federation may seem an unlikely siding but it is where Ritchie ended his playing career which had stretched from Tynecastle, unproductively through Rangers, en route to Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City, Porstmouth, Derby County, Walsall, Dundee United and Omonia Nicosia.

At 34, he admits he should still be playing but a knee injury sustained in his one and only game with the RailHawks brought a sudden end to his career.

Assistant to head coach and fellow-Scot Martin Rennie, he is at a club with a strong Scottish presence with Greg Shields and Allan Russell both on the playing staff.

Ritchie now has his family in America with him and the club boasts facilities that would not out of place in the Premier League here, but he still hankers after a job at home.

“I’ve been open-minded about coming over here. You just need to look at Mo Johnston, Steve Nicol and John Spencer and there are opportunities here,” he states.

“Back home, it’s extremely difficult to get a foot on the ladder. Every job that comes up, you sometimes find there are 40-50 applicants in for a part-time job in the first division.

“If you can make a name for yourself out here, then opportunities will arise. Paul Dalglish is head coach at Tampa, Martin is head coach here and we have Greg and Allan now playing here.

“I think, more and more, people will see America as a viable option. I think in the past players looked to come here at the end of their career but the standard here is as good as it is back home, if not better.

“The MLS is now attracting top-quality players and I think a lot of players now look at America differently.

“It’s giving me experience of day-to-day coaching which is something I need. Yes, I have my qualifications but there’s no substitute for experience. I should still be playing, realistically, at 34, so for me to get a full-time position is great.

“If I look at people back home like Derek McInnes and Steven Pressley who have been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and to grab the opportunity with both hands.

“But the chances of a young coach to get a position at an SPL or a first division club are few and far between.

“As a club owner, you are more likely to go with experience and tried and trusted managers like Jim Jefferies or Craig Brown and they are not going to gamble with a club’s future by taking on a young coach.

“There is a lot to say for the ‘old guard’ - just look at what Craig and Archie Knox have done at Motherwell.

“You’re lucky if there are 40-50 full-time coaching positions in Scotland. You can look at the route of going part-time but, in all honesty, it’s difficult finding another job these days to supplement your income. I have no education - I left school at 15 to go full-time with Hearts so I don’t have a lot to fall back. 

“I have to look at all avenues that let me stay in full-time coaching at any level. I worked with the soccer schools for Manchester United last year and, just to be involved in a daily basis, was great.

“I want to stay in the game and I think I have enough knowledge from my playing career to do well and I think I’m good at what I do.

“I’m serving my apprenticeship again. I’m fortunate enough to have a full-time position working at a club with fantastic facilities.” 

Ritchie admits that the success of Craig Levein, his former team-mate and travelling companion at Hearts, has helped him focus on the job in hand.

Levein worked for free at Livingston when he first started out and was not averse to taking the odd turn himself, finding himself at Raith Rovers when he was out of a job after being sacked by Leicester City.

“I spoke to Craig before coming over here. I was in a bit of a dilemma as my family were still here at the time,” Ritchie continues.

“He gave me some sound advice and told me: “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish”. He worked at Livingston and Raith for nothing and has been at the bottom of the ladder and it takes a number of years and takes a few hits along the way.

“It was too good an opportunity to turn down if I look at the number of coaches back home who are looking for work and can’t find anything. 

“Yes, I have aspirations to coach back home but I have to be grateful for what I have over here working full-time in the game.

“I played most of my football in the SPL and that’s where I want to return but, at this moment in time, it’s not an option.”

Ritchie has learned from the coaches he has worked under and it is no surprise that he feels he owes a debt to Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown, who first guided him at Hearts.

“Jim and Billy gave me a great opportunity in football. I also look at what Craig Levein has done and I was lucky enough to play with him and travel with him every day,” he states.

“Stuart Pearce was also a fantastic influence on me when he was assistant manager at Manchester City and Sam Allardyce and Phil Brown at Bolton. Their philosophy on the game at Bolton on the way you trained and prepared for games was probably light years ahead of everybody else at the time. He was one of the few coaches who would try new things and experiment with the sports science side of the game.

“There’s so much money in the game now that you need to be giving it your attention 365 days of the year. It’s a lot difference to even when I played.”

RM

© Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMX, All Rights Reserved