Having been at the helm of Engen Santos’ Youth Development for seven months now, I can safely say that things are moving in the right direction.

My first task, on arrival, was to put the necessary structures in place - an efficient transport system to get the kids to training on time, as well as a training programme designed to improve the fitness and skill levels of the boys.

Then, I focused on ensuring that there is a philosophy of football that runs throughout the entire club. It’s a process, but it will take root with time, as my idea is to introduce a particular style play that is favoured by Engen Santos, and that particular style will be played from the bottom right up to the PSL team. I am also involved in the PSL side as the technical adviser and, as such, can point out certain things to their coaching staff.

One thing I want to ensure is that all junior teams at Engen Santos play as many tournaments, both locally and internationally, as possible. Already this month, the under-11s, under-13s and under-15s will be involved in tournaments here in the Mother City. In this way, the kids get regular competition and this contributes to making them even better footballers. Experience is the greatest teacher, and I believe more and more competitive games will make better footballers out of the boys.

International tournaments, too, are essential. We have just returned from an under-23 tournament in India, which proved to be a fantastic learning experience for the youngsters.

In keeping with this trend, our under-15s will next month (April 4-6) be involved in the national under-15 Manchester United Premier Cup, to which all the PSL clubs’ under-15s are invited. The winner of this tournament gets to play in an under-15 tournament in England, hosted by Manchester United.

In my seven months here, many kids have come and gone… that’s the nature of this game. But football today is a multi-million rand business and, if I can regularly produce players for the PSL team, then my job will be successfully done.