JILL SCOTT has opened up on her passion for coaching and hailed Pep Guardiola’s emotional intelligence. The retired City and Lionesses ace is set to coach girls and boys coming up through the ranks at Manchester City. 
Jill Scott described coaching as one of her big passions in an interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap showCredit: Getty
Scott, who won the Euros with England last July, has been discussing her plans to coach Manchester City academy playersCredit: AFP
Scott says she took her nephews to watch a training session led by City’s Prem team boss Pep GuardiolaCredit: PA
Scott, 36, revealed the experience of being coached at City opened up a whole new world of football to her
The retired midfield ace was sharing her thoughts in an interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap Show with Sky Bet. 
And the former Citizens star admits she gets “a real buzz” from helping youngsters. 
Scott, who helped the Lionesses win the 2022 Women’s Euros last July, told Neville: “Coaching is a big passion of mine – I love coaching. 
Read More Football Stories
“I even did a grassroots session the other day and I had little six-year-olds checking their shoulder before receiving the ball.
“I just get a real buzz out of helping people.
“I’m going to be doing a bit of coaching at Manchester City, it got blew up a bit as if I’m going to be Pep Guardiola’s assistant. 
“That’s the media world that we’re living in. It’s going to be coaching the girls and boys academy players. 
Most read in Football
“In terms of the detail that Man City provide, it’s so interesting for me. 
“It opened this whole new world of football and that was at the age of 26.
“I’m excited about that, I’m obsessed with passing drills. 
“Sometimes I’ll sit around on a Friday night watching old Bayern Munich passing drills on YouTube, looking at bits of detail. 
“I know that’s my passion but I’m not ready yet to go into a full schedule of football.
“I’ve watched some of Pep Guardiola’s sessions, I took my nephews along to watch a session.
“I’ll be observing the academy training in the first few weeks and seeing how they work but it’s hard to learn from Pep because he’s always a genius in his own head.
“Sometimes you can watch a coach who is very structured, but he’s very emotionally intelligent and you’ll see his session go one way and then he’ll change it.
“There are some coaches you can follow and some who are just a genius in their own mind.
“There’s a lot of coaches with good detail at the academy – the assistant of Pep, Rodolfo (Borrell) we had him coach us at the women’s team – he used to work at Barcelona.
“I hung onto every word he said on receiving the ball in the pockets.
“I’m excited, I’m going to go in there and ask as many questions as I can because I have a lot to learn.
“I’m nowhere near a finished article of a coach but I know I’ll work hard to get better.”
Scott, who retired last August, ended her playing career as the second-highest capped Lioness after Fara Williams.
The versatile former midfielder notched up 161 senior appearances for the Lionesses.
She also won nine major trophies during her 18-year club career.
These include a Women’s Super League title, four FA Cups and three league cups during spells at City and Everton. 
Since retirement Scott has gone on to be crowned winner of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here as well as pundit appearances on Sky Sports and ITV Sport. 
In February she opened a new floodlit 3G football pitch at Perth Green Community Centre in Jarrow, five miles from her hometown in Sunderland. 
The pitch, funded via a £500,000 Football Foundation grant, is supporting the development of football for women and girls as well as individuals living with disabilities. 
Local teams who will use the space include Boldon CA Girls FC, the club where Scott began her career as a youth player. 
Earlier this year Scott opened a new 3G pitch in Jarrow named in her honour
Scott’s former coach Paul Smith who is the chairman of Boldon CA Girls FC said: “It’s been a good journey for Jill but it’s also been a good journey for myself and girls football in general in the area. 
“I think if we had not done what we’ve done, I don’t think it (girls’ football) would be as big as it is now in the area.”
Scott revealed she could not imagine football being a part of her life and says the joy of playing the game overrode the toughest moments she experienced on the pitch. 
She added: “It was tough being a girl and wanting to play football. I got bullied quite a lot. 
“I remember my first day at senior school – this lad was shouting at me, ‘you must be a boy because you play football’. 
“I went to chase after him and his friend tripped me up and I smashed my elbow into three pieces.

“When I look back, those moments were really tough.
“I found it really hard to open up and say how I was feeling, because especially in those early moments in my career, we were taught, ‘don’t ever show that you’re disappointed’, ‘be strong’ and all that.
Scott made 111 appearances for Manchester City during her nine-year spell at the clubCredit: PA
“As I’ve got older, I’ve realised that the strongest people were the ones that showed emotion and said, ‘look I’m getting bullied, I’m struggling.’ 
Read More on The Sun
“It was tough, but then with those moments where I picked up my football boots, training and playing football, I was just so happy.
“That feeling overrode those other things.” More

TOMMY FURY has confirmed that he will return to action in HUNGARY on May 9.The boxer, 25, has not fought since defeating KSI in October 2023.Tommy Fury has not fought since 2023Credit: GettyFury, 25, has announced his boxing returnCredit: Instagram / Tommy FuryFury, who still possesses an unblemished 10-0 record, will finally set foot inside the ring again next month, although his opponent has not yet been announced.Confirming the bout, which will not be under the Misfits banner, TNT wrote on Instagram: “Two years out. One surgery.”The hardest battle I’ve faced has been the mental battle of being away from boxing.”But I’m back stronger, sharper, and more HUNGARY than ever.READ MORE IN SPORT”May 9th, Budapest… It’s showtime. Let’s go!”Prior to his bout with KSI, Fury narrowly overcame Jake Paul via split decision in February 2023.The Problem Child’s team claim that Fury snubbed a $6million (£4.5m) offer to rematch on Netflix last year.Earlier this month, a member of Paul’s team said that TNT would not be getting another lucrative offer to take him on again.Most read in BoxingBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKPaul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian told SunSport: “Tommy was offered an unbelievable deal to headline versus Jake on Netflix and they had a false sense of expectations.”Jake’s not gonna ever offer him that kind of money again. Now if Tommy Fury showed up and said, ‘Jake, here is $20million to fight me and I’m gonna make $20million.’ Right, all the power to you.Jake Paul reveals Tommy Fury is harder puncher than Mike Tyson but brands Love Island star ‘airhead’ “But they’ve never made an offer once. And we’ve made multiple offers to try to make that rematch happen. “And if you’re very confident that you’re gonna be Jake Paul, you should have jumped at the opportunity to fight him for $6million plus upside on Netflix.”It’s just beyond ridiculous that they didn’t.”Despite claims to the contrary, rumours have persisted that Fury and Paul could still rematch this winter.The Problem Child, hoping to stay active, is expected to also fight this summer.While Fury has had a lengthy lay-off, Paul has continued to be active in the ring.Since losing to TNT, the only defeat of his career to date, Paul has beaten Nate Diaz, Andre August, Ryan Bourland, Mike Perry and Mike Tyson.Fury, meanwhile, had been due to return against Darren Till on January 18 in Manchester.Read More on The SunHe sensationally withdrew from the fight, however, after Till threatened to “kick” him in the head.The former UFC star stayed on the card, instead defeating Anthony Taylor.Darren Till beat Anthony Taylor in ManchesterCredit: Getty More

MIKEL ARTETA has been tapping up England rugby boss Eddie Jones and big hitters from American sport as Arsenal tilt for the title.The Gunners’ manager has kept up his regular chats with a group with Jones and Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers.
Mikel Arteta is seeing his methods bear fruit with Arsenal top of the table this seasonCredit: PA
Michael Jordan’s former coach Mike Dunlap is among those sharing adviceCredit: Getty
Arteta and the rest of the brains trust swap ideas and share headaches over Zoom and Jones has had the Arsenal chief into England camp in Bagshot.
Jones 62, said: “He’s a super bright young coach. It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous. We all go in and share our problems and everyone tells you what they think. It’s fantastic.
“We’ve got Mikel, Matt LaFleur the Green Bay Packers head coach, George Karl who’s an NBA hall of famer, Mike Dunlap who was Michael Jordan’s head coach when he bought the Hornets. We’ve got all these guys in the same room.
“We just share stories and each other’s problems and try and come up with ideas of how we can take coaching forward. He (Arteta) is a brilliant young guy.”
READ MORE ON ARSENAL
Jones was glued to the Amazon All or Nothing Gunners documentary and has picked up tips from the Spaniard who is over 20 years younger than him.
And the Aussie will urge his England rugby side to take a leaf out of Arsenal’s book with a year to go to the Rugby World Cup.
Jones added: “Look how fast Arsenal get out of the blocks. Every game they’re at it. They play with energy, they know how they want to play, they put the opposition on the back foot.
“In rugby – and we’ve been good at it at times and not so good at other times – 75 per cent of Test matches are won by the team who score the first try.
Most read in Football
HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALL
“I don’t know what the percentage would be in the Premier League for teams who score the first try but I’d imagine it would be high.”
Arsenal have a four point lead in the table after another positive weekend for Arteta’s team.
They had to dig deep to win at Leeds amid late VAR controversy.
Later Liverpool won a pulsating match against Manchester City at Anfield to stop Pep Guardiola’s side from closing the gap. More

JILL SCOTT is swapping Manchester for Merseyside with Everton confirming a sensational loan swoop for the England legend.
Scott, 36, will return to the club for the second time in her career following a seven-year trophy-winning stint. 

England legend Jill Scott will return to Everton on a loan deal Credit: Getty Images – Getty

And it comes days after City announced the signing of USA centre-back Abby Dahlkemper.
Scott, who played for the Toffees from 2006 to 2013, was part of an Everton side who won the Women’s Premier Cup in 2008. 
The Sunderland-born defender beat Arsenal heroines Alex Scott and Karen Carner to an FA Player’s Player of the Year Award the year before.
Toffees boss Willie Kirk, whose team play Tottenham on Sunday, described the move for Scott as a statement of intent. 

Kirk said: “She was a pivotal figure at Everton when the Women’s Super League was first formed and went on to become a significant part of Manchester City establishing themselves as one of the top clubs in this country.
“Her achievements in the game are incredible, and that was recognised with her MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list.  
“She is very excited to join us and I expect her to challenge and raise our standards, adding to the good work we are doing.
“It may only be a loan deal until the end of the season but I feel she can have a long-term impact on the journey that we are currently on.

“I’m really looking forward to working with her and it is another sign of our intent.”
Scott, who played 114 times for Everton netting 21 goals, made a move to Man City in the summer of 2013. 
The Lioness, who reached the World Cup semis with England in 2019, has won seven trophies with the top-flight giants including last term’s FA Cup. 
And the centre-back – who has been capped 149 times – is second only to Fara Williams in the rankings for the total number of England appearances. 

Jill Scott’s move to Everton comes days after Man City announced the signing of Abby Dahlkemper Credit: Kenny Ramsay – The Sun Glasgow
Scott’s move to Everton is the second high profile transfer deal involving the Merseyside club this month.
This week, Ligue 1 Women’s champs Lyon announced the signing of former Toffees ace Damarris Egurrola. 
The Champions League winners swooped for the Spain midfielder after triggering her £100,000 release clause. 

Lionesses in training More

REAL MADRID are desperate to sign a new No9 this summer – with Erling Haaland the favourite to join. The red-hot Norwegian star, 19, only joined Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January in an £18.5million deal. Real Madrid have made Erling Haaland their No1 target this summer But Real Madrid are desperate to […] More