Expert issues ‘next big thing’ claim as Phil Roscoe quits Liverpool for Aston Villa
New Aston Villa player care manager Phil Roscoe has a vital role in ensuring that young players dubbed the “next big thing” make sensible career decisions.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
As relayed by Training Ground Guru last Tuesday (10 May), Roscoe has left Liverpool after 17 years to take on the role at Bodymoor Heath.
His remit will be to safeguard the wellbeing of Villa’s feted young stars.
The club has stepped up its youth recruitment drive and development programme in recent years.
Dinnery insists that Roscoe will play an important role in nurturing their talent as well as managing their expectations.
“It’s a huge, fantastic role,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The demands and pressures are changing for everybody, but particularly young players. Everyone wants more from you all the time.
“Maybe you deliver in a few games and suddenly you’re the next big thing. However, the unfortunate reality of the situation is that, for the majority of these players, you aren’t going to cut it at the highest level.
“Those expectations need to be managed. The decision that you make at that stage in your life can have huge implications for what you do for the rest of your career.
“They are being approached by agents, sponsors and god knows what other vices. Making sure that these players can look after themselves and deal with these situations is absolutely huge.
“Also, you need to make sure that the only thing that’s on your mind when you cross that white line is that you’re performing well.”
Jacob Ramsey, Carney Chukwuemeka and Louie Barry are all recent Villa academy graduates.
Villa finished 10th in the Premier League 2 Division 2 this term.
In other news, Newcastle United and Aston Villa lead the race to sign Kalvin Phillips after Leeds United twist.