Richard Thomas credits family with big part in his coaching development

Richard Thomas has claimed that his family have played a big part in his development as a coach.

The Notts County assistant manager has been a crucial element of Kevin Nolan's side's progress from League Two relegation strugglers to promotion hopefuls.

When asked about who has inspired him, Thomas told the Nottingham Post: “It’s not about one person or one big name manager for me, anybody and anyone can give me something that I can take into practice.

“My brother and sister-in-law are both PE teachers, my other sister is a teacher and they are educators of people.

“My dad is a coach so it’s sort of a family thing. I will lean on them and listening to how they talk and what they say not in their practices maybe, but when we discuss work I will take from them as much as they can give me.

“Whether it’s one little nugget of information I can use on a regular basis, I will take that as much as watching your Klopps, your Mourinhos, your Guardiolas and the world’s best.

“You draw on your own experiences. I played marginally above pub level, but there are managers there that bring so many good values over the course of 19-20 years I’ve been coaching.

“But I was learning things from the under-9s coach at Orient when I was academy manager. It was fantastic.

“He may have been on a course, or got his own mannerisms, which I look at and go ‘that’s a great trait, I am taking that one’.

“I don’t care who it comes from. If it helps me which indirectly helps the players then directly helps the club, then it doesn’t matter where the information comes from.

“Look at the boss (Alan Hardy) in his business field. He’s a great example. I must be able to learn something from him. He may not see it that way in terms of coaching.

“But there must be something he does in his business structure that works on the coaching field, or helps me with my week.

“If it can make you half-a-percent better then those marginal gains are all important.”

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