Amid his coaching journey, Paul McShane sensing change at Man Utd
Roy Keane chose the All-Blacks; Paul McShane gravitated to the Wigan Warriors.
The former Manchester United Irishmen, who reunited at Sunderland, both went down the rugby road to diversify their coaching education.
As part of the Uefa Pro License curriculum, students are encouraged to arrange a placement inside the environment of a different code.
Famously, Keane was welcomed with open arms into the New Zealand camp in 2008 by Graham Henry and Richie McCaw during their preparations for a test match against Ireland in Wellington.
A hectic schedule for McShane combining his duties as United’s U15 coach and assistant to Ireland U21 boss Jim Crawford has limited his opportunities to embark on a prolonged residency like Keane’s on another continent but one within an unnamed GAA setting appears to be looming in the summer.
“I might be going in somewhere with Jim and it’ll be a good one,” he teased. “But it’s not confirmed yet.”
He dipped his toe into the world of the oval ball, albeit not through the Irish association facilitating his coaching badges.
“I went into Wigan Warriors for a day to just see how they worked,” the Wicklowman said about fulfilling the course obligations.
“It was actually the English Pro licence - so it was undercover!
“But they had a space free that day for someone to join and I was asked by a colleague at United if I’d be up for it.
“It was nice to see how a another sport works; stripping things back to seeing how fit and driven the rugby league lads are. You can watch all the fundamentals that are required and be reminded of those things.”
McShane is only 38 but it’s been tunnel-vision on football since Alex Ferguson convinced him that United was a better route than Leeds United to achieve
Read on irishexaminer.com
