I’m an ex-Celtic star who has switched the pitch for the road to become a qualified driving instructor
FOOTBALLERS often switch to coaching or punditry once they call it a day and hang up their boots.
Many of course decide against that route, but it’s rare to see a former pro take to the road to become a driving instructor instead.
Ex-Celtic goalie Carl Muggleton is the exception though as the Englishman now has his own business teaching the next generation the rules of the road.
The stopper, who spent six months at Parkhead in 1994, decided to stay involved in the beautiful game when he retired in 2008 before taking up the unusual new career path.
After leaving Mansfield Town, where he played his last match, he joined Notts County as a part-time goalkeeping coach.
He then teamed up with Gillingham in a similar role before leaving for Barnet in 2016.
Muggleton was appointed head of recruitment at Chesterfield in May 2018 but left the club in December that year after manager Martin Allen was sacked.
But despite keeping himself busy with several clubs over the past few years, he also decided to become a qualified instructor and has been established on the road for over five years.
The 54-year-old has helped hundreds of people gain their licence through his Carl Muggleton Driving School.
He’s still heavily involved in football on the side though and takes time to assist young goalkeepers with the Northern Ireland Under-21 team too.
Muggleton played for 14 clubs throughout his 22-year career and had a short spell with the Hoops when he joined the club in January 1994.
He spent the remainder of the 1993/94 season at Celtic and made 12 top-flight appearances in that time.
The former England youth international was signed by manager Lou Macari from Leicester and left Glasgow in the summer after Tommy Burns took over as gaffer in March.
It was a season to forget for the Celts as they ended the campaign with no trophies and finished 4th in the league behind Rangers, Aberdeen and Motherwell.
But despite failing for success in Scotland, Muggleton came close to a trophy two years earlier as he played for Leicester in their Second Division play-off final and saved a penalty at Wembley.
He was on the losing side though.
Muggleton is enjoying his new life after hanging up the gloves but recently told the Athletic about some of the scary moments he’s endured in the car with learners.
Speaking in 2019, the former stopper recalled: “We nearly took out a bus stop once.
“I grabbed the steering wheel just in time, but the more experience you have you can see what is coming up and try to avoid it.
“I was in the last year of my career, aged 39. My mate’s daughter was 17 and he didn’t want to take her out for lessons, so I said I’d help.
“I decided to do a course and qualify, and it has been good for me. I can be flexible and do more when I am out of work as a coach.
“It is so rewarding, because you are giving youngsters a chance in life and an opportunity for freedom to get out and about, and they get asked when applying for jobs if they have a driving licence.
“I was asked to give (Leicester player) Daniel Amartey some lessons to get used to driving here, booster lessons, but it didn’t work out because he wanted to drive an automatic, and I taught Tigers (Leicester’s pro rugby side) player Joe Heyes, who plays for England Under-21s.
“I know his dad, Darren Heyes, because he used to play keeper for Nottingham Forest.”
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