Curtis Davies lifts lid on 'machine' Ashley Cole and what Birmingham City players can expect
Former Birmingham City defender Curtis Davies reveals his experience of training with Ashley Cole and what he expects from him as a coach
Curtis Davies believes Birmingham City’s players have the chance to progress their careers under serial winners Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole and John O’Shea.
Speaking to BirminghamLive’s Blues podcast Keep Right On, the Cheltenham Town defender says the trio, who will be supported by Carl Robinson and Pete Shuttleworth, will demand the highest standards both in training and matches. He adds that while some with thrive, others may fall by the wayside as the former Manchester United and Chelsea stars look to take the team – and club – to the next level.
Rooney has replaced former boss John Eustace while Cole has come in to assist the 37-year-old having spent a productive time with Lee Carsley’s England Under 21s.
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Davies says he saw signs that Cole would step into coaching when he was working alongside him at Derby County. The former England international was in his final season when he agreed to come and work with Frank Lampard in January 2019.
Having left LA Galaxy Cole came in and played most games until picking up a knock that kept him out of the final few matches of the regular season – before returning for the play-offs. He spent plenty of time with Davies during his rehabilitation.
It was then that one of the most decorated players of his generation impressed him with his dedication and led him to suspect a career on the other side of the white line. “I could see it just because of, the way he is,” Davies told BirminghamLive.
“I was injured, unfortunately, when Ash came in, I'd done my Achilles but when I was doing some of my sessions towards the back end of that season and was getting fit, Ash had a slight niggle and he did some sessions with me. He was a machine. He was 38 years old, same age as me now, but he was a machine.
“His attitude to work – and this is just with me, him and the physio, so no one was watching – and his standards were just constantly top, top, top all the time.
“When it comes to training everything has to be top. If not, he's able to have a go at people. He's making sure and not like whinging, I talk about better pass, stronger pass, give me the ball blah, blah, like which keeps standards high.
“I think when he goes into this training group now, I think they'll have the idea ‘Oh my god, it's Ashley Cole’. Every time they make a mistake he’ll be on it. They'll think ‘I don't want to upset Ash’. This is the thing when you've got these elite players, you've got England's best ever left back and possibly one of the world's best ever left backs in my opinion, as your coach.
“And then you've got Wayne Rooney as your manager and then you've still got John O'Shea that's won the Champions League and won multiple Premier Leagues, Fa Cups, etc, there's nowhere to hide.
“These players have been at the very top of the game for years and years and they know the standards that it requires to go to that next level and if you drop below those standards, they'll be on you.
“I think it's, it's going to be massive, any player in that group you're only going to learn and you're only going to grow – or you sink and you move on to pastures new. But this is a great time to be part of Blues. The main thing is even though they'll be hard on you as coaches, because of the standards they require, they're good people and they'll definitely want to help you.”