Injured defender Joe Denny learning the art of management at SCEFL Premier Division side Lordswood while awaiting a knee operation | The weekend Groundhop UK event starts on Friday at Martyn Grove as The Wood play Corinthian

Lordswood are giving youth a chance on the field and there are no barriers off it, either.

When Joe Denny found out he would be unable to play long-term because of a serious knee injury he knew he couldn’t be without football, so at the age of just 25 he’s loving the assistant manager role at Lordswood.

The Gillingham schoolteacher - who turns 26 later this month - has become a key go-between in a squad with an average age of around 20 and the rest of the management team.

Former Ebbsfleet defender Denny, who has plenty of playing experience at SCEFL level and above, has plans to play again once his knee gets fitted with an artificial ligament but in the meantime, he’s not sitting around.

He said: “I did my ACL in February and am now waiting for an operation which could be six months away and I don’t know where I would be without this (role at Lordswood) to be honest. It has been good to see how the manager deals with things and all the other management bits that I wouldn’t normally see as a player.

“The plan is to get back playing again but I am that inbetween age and I think it is good for the players, I understand both sides, it is a good link we have there.”

Denny’s last match was for Erith & Belvedere in the Southern Counties East League against Punjab United. Prior to that, he’d been at the likes of Sheppey, Phoenix Sports, Faversham, VCD Athletic, Canterbury and Herne Bay, where he enjoyed promotion success.

He was on the sidelines on Saturday to watch Lordswood pick up a point against one of his old teams, VCD.

The Wood twice took the lead, through Josh Reid and inform striker James Jeffrey, but VCD twice hit back to take a share of the spoils as the Premier Division game finished 2-2.

Denny said: “It was a bit