Brighton coach Simon Rusk explains how he encourages young players while also preparing them for life outside the gameBy Gavin Willacy for Playing in the ShadowsHaving promoted young players in his previous roles at Östersund and Swansea City, new Brighton manager Graham Potter may look to the club’s talented academy players to bring new life to a squad that struggled to stay in the Premier League. However, Brighton under-23s boss Simon Rusk, recognises that most of the young players at the club will never grace the Premier League. His job is about far more than producing top-flight footballers.“My ultimate role,” says Rusk, “is fine-tuning someone to be available for the first-team manager to select. My next role is for players who are just falling short of that: can I help that process for the club to sell someone? And if not, can they have a football career somewhere? And finally, can they walk out the door having still learned some life skills? We want them to look back and say it was still beneficial.” Related: The Swedish fourth-tier club packed full of young English footballers Continue readingreadfullarticle
