McAteer and McManaman enjoy warm welcome

Whatever else Jason McAteer has done in his football career, he'll always be remembered for that precious goal against Holland - an unforgettable strike which paved the way for Ireland to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. McAteer and his former Liverpool team-mate Steve McManaman were in Athlone recently taking their UEFA B Licence course. And when this reporter brought him the subject of McAteer's goal against Holland in September 2001, McManaman got up off his chair and walked away in mock disgust. "Tell us how you bend the ball past Van Der Saar into the top corner," he quipped. When McManaman had finished jesting, McAteer said: "Obviously it would be the highlight of my career, I had some fantastic times, some fantastic memories but a goal that was so important ranks very highly in my career and it was something I enjoyed immensely, and I'm still getting free pints off the back of it!" Local football coach Padraig Nicholson (FAI senior coach education tutor) explained how the two former Liverpool stars ended up doing their course in Athlone IT. "Over the past couple of years, we've had a lot of coaches in from different academies - such as West Bromwich Albion, Reading, Hull City, Southampton, Ipswich Town. We've had a lot of ex players do their courses with us as well, people like Curtis Fleming and Kenny Cunningham. They live in England, they've gone back and given some good vibes. Jason McAteer heard about that, I think that's how it came about." McAteer is a close friend of McManaman and the latter also decided to do his course in Athlone. "The two of them have been absolutely brilliant ... they're so approachable," said Padraig, adding that local fans were glad of the chance to meet the two high profile figures and get autographs. "It's a great coup for the Midlands and for Athlone. I'm absolutely delighted because I'm from Athlone and it's great to be able to have a UEFA B course in Athlone, and to have two people like that here as well is fantastic," added Padraig. Billed as one of 'the three amigos' during the 1994 World Cup along with Phil Babb and Gary Kelly, McAteer did not seem the most likely footballer to enter coaching or management. However, he had a spell as player/coach at Tranmere Rovers and, earlier this summer, he was appointed assistant manager of the League One club, with another former Liverpool player John Barnes as manager. "I think people see me as this 'trigger', kind of happy-go-lucky character, but there is another side to me that's driven. I've got a big loyalty towards football, it's the only thing I really know, but I'm very passionate about the game. Those ingredients make you want to stay in the game," he said. "When I was at Tranmere first of all as a player/coach, I had visions of wanting to go into management, but unfortunately, as much as I was enjoying it, my contract ran out. I found myself still out of football two years later and getting itchy feet really. I always had that urge to go back in and when the opportunity arose at Tranmere Rovers, myself and John applied." Both McAteer and McManaman both really enjoyed doing the coaching course in Athlone. "It's been really enjoyable," said Jason. "Obviously I'm a big fan of what's going on with Irish football because when I first came into the squad all those years ago, there was no real grassroots stuff coming through, and there was always a danger that the youth coming through would not make the grade. The FAI have seen this, they've put together a fantastic coaching plan and they're just starting to reap the benefits. We've had kids coming in this week (in Athlone) of a very good standard. We've enjoyed it ... I'm certainly going back to Tranmere with different ideas,", said McAteer, who was full of praise for the facilities in Athlone IT. "The facilities in Ireland have got better and better over the years I've been coming here. I was in Limerick two years ago, doing my coaching badge, the facilities were unbelievable in Limerick. Coming to Athlone, you think maybe they won't be as good, but they're fantastic. The IT here has provided us with great food, great facilities, they've been very helpful and walking around it looks like a good college to come to and learn," added McAteer. In contrast with his former team-mate, Steve McManaman has no experience of coaching or management. "I think if you want to progress in football you need your coaching badges nowadays, so it's just the first step on the rung of getting the qualifications that you need to be a manager if the opportunity ever arises," said the former Real Madrid star, who won two Champions League titles with the Spanish club. Well-known on both sides of the Irish sea for his role as a pundit on Setanta Sports, McManaman said he doesn't intend to go into management in the near future. "Maybe in a couple of years down the line, I don't know whether I'll feel any different to how I feel at the moment. I don't want to get into coaching at this moment in time; to be honest, I can't get into coaching at this moment in time, because I don't have any qualifications. As soon as I qualify, if we I take my A licence and Pro licence, that's further down the line." Jason and Steve were delighted with the warm welcome they received in Athlone, and they both received a presentation from the local Liverpool Supporters' club. "We came here just expecting to do our badges, we didn't expect any welcome because, as far as we were concerned, we would just do our stuff and go. But obviously word gets around and we've been incredibly well looked after ... and fans have come down to the training ground most days. We were presented with a couple of nice mementos and it's been absolutely fantastic," said McManaman. McAteer said: "Playing for the national team, you spend a lot of our time in Dublin, you very rarely venture out of Dublin, so you're not that accessible to the country. When people found out Steve and myself were here, they just wanted to come down and have a chat with us about our Liverpool careers, and obviously Ireland with me ... which was great because they do make you feel welcome." The English Premier League season kicks off this weekend but both men were guarded about making any predictions, as they both expect the main contenders to make signings before the transfer window closes. "Our story now will have changed by the 1st of September because every team will have bought more players and reinforced their teams," said McManaman. "I think Liverpool have got a great chance, they were close to Man Utd last year, and they haven't lost anybody in the calibre of a Ronaldo. Ronaldo really was a wonderful player and he has to be a big loss for them because he was so bloody good, so that's probably made Liverpool a little bit closer. " "I think Liverpool are as close now as we were in 1995/'96, we should have actually won it that year," said McAteer. When Jason is asked about Tranmere's hopes for the new season, Steve was quick to interject with "promotion, promotion, promotion - in one word promotion and that's it". After joking that European football is their target, Jason said: "You've got to set targets, we're not trying to build something overnight, we have a long term plan. We want the structure of the club to be more solid."