Andy King revealed his coaching role will be to help the younger generation of Bristol City talent break into the first-team but remains adamant he still has a part to play on the pitch after signing a new deal.
The veteran midfielder finally ended speculation of his immediate future by signing a one-year contract extension and transitioning into a player/coach role following a frustrating season hampered by injuries.
King, 33, still wants to be identified as a player admitting his fitness feels great in pre-season heading into the new campaign but admitted he is looking firmly into the future with his new contract having started his coaching badges one year ago.
Having signed an extension to head into his second season in BS3, King told Robins TV: "This is a slightly different role but playing a part on the pitch is something I still very firmly believe I can do and is what I’ve been working so hard towards this pre-season with the lads.
“The opportunity to help in a coaching capacity is also great and I’m keen to learn as it’s certainly something I see myself doing in the future. I hope that what I’ve learned so far, and from my experiences as a player, will be really useful to help the good young players we have.
"It's something I'm really pleased the club have allowed me to do. I've started doing my badges with a FAW (Football Association of Wales) a year or so ago so when I decide to stop playing it's certainly an avenue I can see myself going down.
"For my own development, the coaches here give me that chance to maybe come in on their meetings if I need to or come in on some of their sessions to see how they do things.
"If I can help some of the younger boys in their development whether that be with the Under-23s or some of the boys coming into the first-team - it's something I would have liked to do anyway but now I've got that title it's something I can take a little bit more seriously and they can take it a little bit seriously from me."
King's season was hampered by two hamstring injuries that limited him to 10 Championship starts across the campaign. But he is eager to make up for lost time by putting last season to bed to prove his worth on the field.
He added: "No one was more disappointed than me over last season with the injury. Started well and then obviously it went downhill. My season sort of parallels with the team with disappointing moments but a lot of positives as well.
"I certainly feel really good, although I was fit at the end of last season I probably wasn't match fit so I managed to get a couple of games in at the end and that was nice for me to finish on a plus, go away have a week or so off and then go and continue the hard work and make sure I came into pre-season feeling good."
Nigel Pearson, who worked with King at Leicester for over six years, believes King has all the attributes to become a future manager and even suggested he could be the main man in the dugout at Ashton Gate in the future.
The City boss added: “It’s important that when we have talented football people in the building, we invest time in young players that we can see a future in, and it’s also important that we invest time in talented football people towards the end of their career,” Pearson said.
“So what do I mean by that? I think he’s got a future in the game as a coach and probably a manager. He’s here, he’s very keen to stay and, you never know, he might manage the club one day. Why not invest time in him? And he’s still got a lot to offer as a player as well.
“He’s bright enough, he’s got the game understanding, he’s still ambitious - I think he’ll make a good manager.
“He’s remaining very much a player. He’s not getting changed into black kit. He wants to still play and that’s very important, and I still want him to play. I’ve done it before at other clubs - Chris Powell at Leicester, we made him a player/coach and Chris has had a really good career so far.
“I see it as being an opportunity to at least let talented players who, we think, can be talented coaches and managers explore the possibilities, without the real pressure of it being their first job. It’s just a sensible move for us as a club and for Kingy’s development I think it will be really, really good.”
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