Aston Villa's newly appointed U-23s head coach George Boateng is extremely excited to get started in his new role at the LFC Academy.
After a year spent with the club’s Under-18s, Boateng will work alongside Mark Delaney as Professional Development Coach.
The Ghanaian has seen an instant rise in his coaching career after an impressive campaign with the U-18's, despite a coronavirus disrupted season.
"The role is fantastic,” he told Aston Villa TV.
"For me, I’m now making a step-up to working with players who are close to the first team, closer than the Under-18s.
"We are at the top end of the Academy, where players have to make the transition from being a youth player to a senior player. I want to help get them a career in the game."
Boateng and Delaney have made a combined 317 appearances for Villa and they both know what it takes to carve out successful playing careers at the club.
"Mark is a tremendous guy who works extremely hard and deservedly leads the Under-23s. Mark and I go way back, and we’re aligned in the coaching and what our philosophy is," he added.
"We both know the requirements and what the boys have to do each and every day to try and get into the first team here.
"There are things you need to know as a coach but there are also things you know from a playing point of view that you have to try and get across to the boys.
"If you’ve played at that level, it makes it easier to understand what the requirements are. The second phase is can you get that message across to the players."
Aston Villa kick-off their PL2 season against West Bromwich Albion on Monday.