Academy is a 'labour of love' for Liam

Liam O'Neill has been reflecting on the rise of Rugby Town's Academy of Football
Liam O'Neill has overseen Rugby Town's Academy of Football since its launchLiam O'Neill has overseen Rugby Town's Academy of Football since its launch
Liam O'Neill has overseen Rugby Town's Academy of Football since its launch

“It’s been hard work but it’s not work for me, it’s a labour of love.”

So says Rugby Town’s Academy of Football manager Liam O’Neill as he begins to plan for the next season.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The academy has been a success story for the club since the full-time football education programme for 16 to 19 year olds was launched just over two years ago.

The project has been led by one-time Rugby player O’Neill in conjunction with Morthyng Group Ltd and the Academy’s patron Richard Overson, who also played for the club.

The success has been there for all to see.

Jai Rowe, who was part of the first intake, has become the first to go on and play in the Football League after signing for Scunthorpe United.

And, on the pitch, the youngsters representing Rugby’s academy have been performing to a high standard with two VAR Premier League tournament wins, a first-round appearance in the FA Youth Cup, where they were edged out 1-0 at Grimsby Town, while all three teams were top of their respective leagues before they were null and voided due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

O’Neill, who made his debut for Rugby at the age of 15 and went on to play for the likes of Mansfield Town and Cheltenham Town, enjoyed a successful coaching career in the non-League game.

But he has certainly found his passion and he insists the local links both he and Overson have are a difference-maker.

“I grew up here, my dad played here in the 1970s and was on the committee and I grew up watching every game, every week,” O’Neill said.

“I made my debut for the club when I was 15 and I have a lot of history here.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“There is a link with me and Richard and we have all been working together to build something strong over the past couple of seasons.

“I am able to say to the players who have come in that this is my home.

“I had a decent career in the game but I am able to say to every player who walks through the door that I played in this first-team when I was 15 but I also played at a full-time level.

“I am selling this club and this programme because it means something.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I don’t just have to say ‘come to this football club’, I can say ‘come to my football club’ and that is part of the unique selling point and I think everyone can feel it.

“We have four full-time members of the coaching staff, a maths teacher, an English teacher, a student support officer, two BTEC teachers, two fully-equipped classrooms, a full size 3G pitch and a nine-a-side 3G pitch.

“All our coaches have played in the full-time game and that’s important because it means the youngsters look up to them and respect them.

“But we have worked non-stop since the end of May when we were allowed to move around again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We have been painting, weeding, gravelling and the staff have been absolutely brilliant. But we have to get that facility looking like it is brand new every day.”

O’Neill admits he wasn’t really sure how things would go when he chosen to lead up the new Academy of Football having held a similar role at Nuneaton Borough.

And while the focus is, of course, on education and football at the Butlin Road base, he insists there is more to it.

“When I first got here, I wasn’t really sure how it would go because these things can fall if you aren’t professional with it,” he added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But we did the hard yards and we started the first year with some lads who came from Nuneaton and we have already, after the first year, had a lad called Jai Rowe who made his first-team debut for Scunthorpe.

“For us, in terms of development, that’s the whole point of it.

“These lads are getting their football education, their physical education and we are giving them a chance to go on to university.

“But the bottom line is, I want them to come out of it as better human beings.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s not just about football and education, it’s as much about making that transition from being a little kid and being an adult by the time they leave.

“I have built up a good relationship with the PFA over the last four or five years and they invite scholars whenever they need ‘guinea pig’ players to go to St George’s Park to work with those who are going for their coaching qualifications.

“The cream of that was the end of last season when we were asked to get 16 players to Aston Villa’s training ground.

“And it turned out to be helping the A Licences of a number of coaches including John Terry.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“So our boys spent five weeks with John Terry and that is the sort of opportunity that these boys are getting.

“People from the outside looking in will see the success of the boys on the pitch and the success of having a lad already making his Football League debut.

“These boys get to meet and work with some top players and you can’t put a price on that.

“We are now getting some good players who are wanting to join after what we have done so far.”

n Anyone who would like details about how to enrol for the academy’s October trials should email to [email protected]

Related topics: