Published: 02:00, 16 October 2025 | Updated: 02:00, 16 October 2025

Not so long ago, Phil Jones didn’t much like talking about football. Not to his team-mates at Manchester United, such was the shame he felt at the long injury nightmare that ended his playing career. Nor to the fans, for fear that the abuse he suffered on social media might be directed at him in the street.

That was a year ago, after Jones succumbed to crippling knee problems and hung up his boots at the age of 32, following 13 years at United and 27 appearances for England.

Now, though, he can look back more positively on his life as a footballer - and forward to a new career in coaching and, hopefully, management. So much so that he is convinced the problems of the past will be invaluable to him in the future.

There is no doubt that the physical and psychological issues he faced as a player will help with the pastoral care needed when working with a dressing room full of young men.

‘Absolutely,’ Jones tells Daily Mail...