Greens coach Brunskill secures English FA job

Iain Brunskill will bring the cur-tains down on his short spell as Floriana coach in tomorrow’s final league match against Qormi as the Englishman has accepted a new job with the English FA.

Floriana had been hopeful of persuading Brunskill to sign a new deal in light of his impact on the team since taking over from Stephen Azzopardi in January but club president Steve Vaughan Jr hinted in an interview with Times of Malta last week that the former Blackburn assistant coach was weighing up a good offer at home.

“I’ve accepted a job with the English FA coaches development department,” Brunskill told Times of Malta yesterday.

“I will be moving around, working with professional coaches at English clubs. It’s different from what I’ve been doing so far but it’s a prestigious job with the FA.

“It’s away from the day-to-day running of a club but it’s a new challenge.”

A former coach at the Liverpool Academy, Brunskill holds all UEFA coaching badges.

His qualifications and ex-perience of youth football meant that Brunskill had the right credentials to join the English FA’s drive to improve the education of coaches, under the guidance of Dan Ashworth, the new director of elite development.

When Brunskill departs for England on Saturday, he will take with him treasured memories of his happy stint with Floriana, his first job in senior management.

Under Brunskill, Floriana secured their status with matches to spare and they are currently on a run of seven wins on the trot.

“We started off by making the team more difficult to beat,” Brunskill, 36, said.

“We also put emphasis on organisation and trying to put the right players in positions where they can influence games.

“We’ve worked to get the best out of the foreign players. In no uncertain terms, Tony Warner, Gary Roberts, Carl Tremarco and Igor Coronado have been our best performers but around them, we have a lot of good players.

“Clyde Borg is very promising, Kane Farrugia has been excellent, very steady and still young, and, given the the right environment, Steven Pisani can also become a leading player.”

Floriana’s rejuvenation under Brunskill helped to raise the image of a club beset by serious financial problems and bad management.

“The people are wonderful,” Brunskill said.

“The weather is good and the food is great but you have to make sure that you don’t fill the club with people who come here for a holiday.

“You’ve got to make sure that the people are here for the right reasons.

“Floriana are a great club with good people and a rich history. The Vaughans have come in and done a lot of good work.”

The prospect of spending another season in charge of Floriana appealed to Brunskill but the opportunity to take up a coaching role with the English FA was too good to turn down.

“Floriana gave me a taste of the management side and I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said.

“At the moment, the oppor-tunities back home are hard to come by, also because football is in a bit of a funny state.

“I’m delighted to have received this opportunity, even though it’s different to what I’ve been doing so far as I’m not going to be working with the players but with the coaches who train the players.

“This offer has come at a time when my private life back home is more settled, so it’s really perfect.”

Maltese football may lack the glamour and wealth of the English game but Brunskill has enjoyed his experience here so much that he doesn’t rule out making a return in the years to come.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Brunskill replied when asked if he would be willing to work in Malta again in future.

“If the right thing crops up, I would definitely consider it.”