Joleon Lescott: ‘I want to help players the way Glenn Hoddle helped me’

Glenn Hoddle saw the game differently to anyone else I’ve ever worked with. He both saw and explained it in such simple terms. And, when he was my manager as a young player at Wolves, that really helped me. He was adding details to my game that I didn’t even recognise at the time.

He helped me become a ball-playing centre-back; someone who was comfortable bringing the ball out of defence. This was at a time when defenders didn’t do this as much as they do now. He helped me become a modern-day centre-back.

He also recognised that I got a lot of opportunities at set pieces, so got me to work on my finishing. At the time I thought that was a little bit strange. Why was I working on my finishing? But then, a year later, I got my move to Everton. In my second season, I scored 10 goals. It was definitely thanks to the work Glenn did with me that I became that player and had so much success at Everton.

Then there was Terry Connor, who I still hold in the highest regard. He probably had the biggest influence on my career, because he was so thorough with me in my development. Terry saw something in me early on, and helped develop and fine-tune my game. He created the player I later became. He forged little habits n me that stuck, and helped me later down the line. These were things I didn’t even notice at the time, but became second nature for me.

I like to think both Glenn and Terry will have got real satisfaction from seeing me go on to do well at Everton and then Manchester City. Their influence has also rubbed off on me as a coach myself. It gives me a great deal of joy to coach young players, help them improve their game and see them succeed.

I had a conversation with a Premier League sporting director and it made me realise