Reims boss Will Still puts Premier League clubs on red alert as he reveals managerial dream
REIMS manager Will Still is keen to work in the Premier League in the near future.
Still has taken Ligue 1 by storm this season ever since replacing Oscar Garcia in the dugout last October as he led his team to a record 17-game unbeaten run before Sunday’s loss to Marseille.
The British tactician, who was raised by English parents in Belgium, is only 30 years old and just started studying for his UEFA Pro License.
That means Reims had to pay a £22,000 fine after every match before he enrolled for his badges.
However, the young manager, who first worked as head coach at the age of 24 for Belgian side Lierse, has led the Red and Whites to ninth place in the table.
Incredibly, Still cut his teeth in the game by playing Football Manager for years.
He would spend many hours sat in front of his computer, alongside brother Ed, who is also a head coach in the Belgium top flight, learning about tactics.
Still has also helped Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun shine as he has scored more times than Paris Saint-Germain superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar.
That attracted interest from Leeds and Southampton, and he put the English top flight on red alert as he confirmed he is keen to join the Premier League one day.
Still told Sky Sports: “It just seems completely stupid to me that my name is being put up against names that have done so much more and have been so many more places than I have. I wouldn’t ever dare to compare myself to those people.
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“I’ve never really thought about it [managing in the Premier League] because I never expected to be in the position I am so early and so suddenly.
“Why not? I’ve done some crazy things in the past; I was head coach at 24 and the same thing happened at 28 back in Belgium and now I’m 30 and people are saying this is crazy.
“Being English and growing up in an English environment in Belgium, England has always felt like home and a place that I’d love to go back to.
“It would feel like coming home, just because the English culture is part of me, part of my roots, part of my family, part of who I am.
“I think if you asked any kid what they would like to do, they’d say they’d love to be a Premier League footballer or manager and I’m no different.
“I was brought up like everyone else and had the same dreams. I’ll keep at them.
“If it happens one day I’ll deserve it, or I hope I will have deserved it, but I realise how much work there is to do before I get there and how much I’ve got to learn. For now, I will stick it to one side.”