Thoughtful, philosophical, and grateful for the opportunities he’s enjoyed so far, Jason Eueull believes he’s 12 years into a coaching journey that has prepared him perfectly for the next step.
“It’s been a long time coming but I know I’m ready to be a number one now,” says the former Wimbledon and Charlton Athletic forward, who amassed almost 500 senior appearances across English football between 1995 and 2012.
“The reason I got into coaching is that I wanted to help the next generation of players by passing on my knowledge and experience of the game, so that they can fulfil their dream of becoming professional footballers.
“For me as a black coach/manager I now want to get to the highest level and create a pathway for other black coaches, but as I always say, ‘I can only be successful, if I improve them [my players and teams].’”
“I’ve come close several times, here in England and over in the US, but hopefully a number one role that’s ‘a bit of me’ is just around the corner.”
The beginnings of Euell's coaching journey
After retiring as a player, Euell spent the next 10 years with Charlton. He briefly took charge of the Under-16s, before enjoying a long-term stint heading up the Under-23s. More recently he worked at first-team level as an assistant coach to Johnnie Jackson and Nigel Adkins.
His last role was in the Championship, operating as Bristol City’s first-team coach alongside Curtis Fleming, in support of manager Nigel Pearson.
And looking back on that spell Euell believes the 17-month tenure has hugely accelerated his own development.
The importance of mentor Nigel Pearson
Appreciative of the mentoring he received at Ashton Gate, he says, “From the first conversation I had with Nigel, I knew it was going to be great. He told me I was there to be the coach, to take the training sessions with Curtis, which from a selfish perspective would help him no end. But he was also at pains to stress, ‘I am here for you too, because I’m getting you ready to be a manager.' That was so good to hear.
“My title was first-team coach but to help me become a number one in my own right Nigel chose to give me the responsibilities of an assistant manager,” Euell continues.
“He allowed us access to board meetings for example, sometimes sending me along in his place before reporting back to him on what was said. Learning about budgets, being a part of recruitment meetings, and dealing with certain matters that Nigel didn’t always need to be across was a tremendous learning experience.”
Euell and Fleming, who hadn’t worked together previously, struck an instant rapport – and between them they would share the design of training sessions, and split time taking the training too. Pearson would always have the final say on what was needed, but trust was quickly established between the trio.
“Nigel’s voice always had to be the most important to the players, and it was,” says Euell, a former Jamaica international. “But what I loved about working with him was the way we were all allowed to challenge and check one another on decision-making. On team selection, tactics, training ideas, in-game tweaks, he wanted to listen to our ideas and opinions. He valued them, thought about them, and then went with what he thought was best. He’s a proper people person and I loved being part of his coaching group.”
Euell's debut coaching role
Rewinding back to the summer of 2012, Euell (who’d spent the previous five years taking his early coaching badges while playing) had just helped Charlton gain promotion from League One into the Championship.
A new contract offer wasn’t on the table for the 35-year-old, but after keeping himself in shape, the midfielder had plans to carry on playing elsewhere until he was 40.
Before he set the ball rolling on finding a new club, Paul Hart, Charlton’s Academy Director at the time, reached out to propose he take charge of the club’s Under-15 team for the 2012/13 campaign.
Thrilled at this, and happy to accept, Euell began to think about non-league teams he could play for on his free Saturdays, before a fortnight later Hart pulled him to one side again; this time to offer him the Under-16s' head coach role instead.
Taking up the story, Euell smiles as he recalls, “I did pluck up the courage to ask him the question, ‘Can I still keep on playing?’ But Paul was unequivocal with a firm but friendly ‘no’! He said, ‘Jason this is serious stuff and a really important position within the Academy, I need you to give it your full attention.' I didn’t hesitate to agree, as it was such a fantastic opportunity.”
Euell inherited a strong group that included several players who have gone on to enjoy excellent careers such as Liverpool’s Joe Gomez and Coventry City’s Kasey Palmer.
He remembers lead phase coach Steve Lovell taking a relatively hands-off approach at the outset, allowing Euell to develop his own style of coaching. This is something he believes helped him in those early stages.
Coming straight from a first-team dressing room also had benefits according to Euell, who says, “As I’d just stopped playing, I was quite relatable to the boys, who really listened in when I was getting my messages across.
“I also remember Glenn Hoddle saying years ago that if you can still do the demonstrations yourself, just do them, so that was an advantage for me too. I could show the lads what I wanted from them by demo-ing it myself, and that helped me gain their respect from the outset.”
Promotion for Euell's career
After one season leading the Under-16s and supporting the Under-18s, Euell replaced Nathan Jones as Charlton Athletic’s Under-21 Head Coach.
It was a position he held for seven years and nine months, playing a key role in the development of many talented young players who transitioned to first-team football, both in southeast London and elsewhere.
During his time in charge of the Under-21s, Euell worked with eight different first-team managers, with each of them unique in the way they wanted the relationship to function.
Some would ask Euell to mimic the first-team formation and tactics, others were more laid-back on that front. The majority trusted the Addicks legend to "carry on" with the work he’d been doing, but as in all walks of life, certain head coaches were easier to deal with than others.
Learning curve
One common thread - and a bugbear of many coaches working in this domain - was the disruption to session plans. But this, according to Euell, was something he quickly got used to.
“When Steve Avery took over from Paul Hart as Academy Director I recall him asking me to send him weekly session plans mapping out how a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday will look, and I just started chuckling. He looked puzzled and asked me why I was laughing,” he says with a mischievous grin.
“I told Steve, 'I don’t know what I’m going to do until an hour, of half an hour before the session!' Initially I did spend hours planning things out the night before, for say 16 players, but with the 21s you come in and the page is often ripped up because the manager wants several of your players with him. Come 10 o’clock it’s often all change again, and a lot of the time you can be mid-session and still lose bodies from your group.
“It’s the same with team selection in matches, not knowing until the last minute who’s available. So, you’ve got to be adaptable and get on with it, because you are there to be at the disposal of the first team. It comes with the territory.”
Our conversation turns to the importance winning outside of a first-team environment, and Euell does not hesitate to share his viewpoint on that topic.
He states with passion, “For me Under-21s football is about winning. These are players who are going to be in your first team, out on loan, or one day in somebody else’s first team so they have to know what it’s like to win games of football. They must learn about what it takes.
“This is why I tried to keep a larger than normal training group, as it forged healthy competition. If you perform poorly and lose, but still get picked every week because there are not enough players, how will you get a reaction or response to that defeat? What is the consequence of disappointing performances?
“When you are closer to first-team football, breeding a winning mentality is a big part of player development, as is learning how to react to setbacks. That’s why I always treated those games seriously.”
Euell's coaching career with England's youth
Between 2018 and 2022 Euell, holding the UEFA Pro Licence, also worked part-time for The FA as part of the England Under-18 and Under-20 coaching teams at St George’s Park.
Although his experience was disrupted by Covid, Euell was delighted to gain valuable experience working alongside top coaches such as Neil Dewsnip, Rob Edwards, Keith Downing, and Lee Carsley.
He was mainly used an out-of-possession coach but was afforded opportunities to work across sessions in a variety of ways, as well as holding one-on-one chats with the players.
Watching the planning and organisation that went into training camps was "eye opening", and he was privileged to help coach players such as Bukayo Saka, Curtis Jones, James Garner, Flo Balogun and Jacob Ramsey among others.
“The quality of the players was great to see at 17 and 18, but it was the mentality and their behaviours which really made an impression on me,” he confesses. “These boys had been brought up in elite coaching environments and their mindsets impressed me so much.”
Euell understandably feels that his own measured pathway from the Academy system, into a first-team environment, via the international scene, has equipped him with the necessary experience and tools to handle a managerial role next.
As we discuss his learnings down the years, we touch on how he’s "more of a cheerleader type than a barker" and discover his preference for players to be given the freedom to think for themselves, rather than having their boss talk them through matches from the technical area.
He understands the value of psychology too. “As a manager you’ve got to chop yourself up to help players who have all been through different experiences. You will be a big brother to one, a friend to another, a father figure to somebody else. Others may need you to be tougher with them. You just need to find what each of your players need to help them make the most of their talent,” he says.
“I see the job as being a coach at football, but a manager of people, and that’s not just players, it’s the staff you work with as well. In a first team you are probably managing people just as much as you’re coaching the game.”
Euell gains qualifications to aid next step towards Managerial role
While Pearson’s inclusive and generous approach to helping Euell, now 47, make the next step was a perfect leg-up for his development, Euell has also been smart enough not to neglect the educational side.
After gaining his UEFA Pro Licence in 2018, he has since qualified to be an Effective Board Member (EGM) in Corporate Governance, and he is currently learning Spanish through the Premier League Next program.
At the turn of the year, Euell also graduated from the University of Liverpool with an LMA diploma in football management.
“I saw it as another layer for me,” admits the former midfielder. “I’ve experienced so much as a player and as a coach, but this course provided an even greater understanding of what a managerial role truly entails.
“Another driver behind gaining this diploma is that I don’t want to walk into an office or a boardroom for a job interview, and have somebody say, 'Well you haven’t got ‘x’ qualification, or you haven’t done ‘y’,” he continues.
“I know I’m as qualified as I can be, which means I can only be judged on whether I am or am not the right person for that job.
“All I lack is the experience of being a number one, but I won’t get that until a club offers me that chance.
“I’m ready for the next challenge. There’s a job out there that’s right for me, and I can’t wait to get started with it.”