Sheffield Wednesday coach hoping for Hillsborough stay after enjoyable S6 spell

Coke, who played over 100 games for the Owls during his playing days, come on board as Andy Sharp’s assistant at U18 level earlier this season, and has watched the side show some impressive improvements as they went on to finish third in the Professional Development League North table.

The former Ipswich Town and Motherwell midfielder says that he’s hoping to still be around at Middlewood Road next season as he looks to continue his coaching journey, and he also spoke during a charity event for the Create A Dream Foundation over the weekend about how it was a ‘no-brainer’ to join the club’s staff when the opportunity arose.

“It’s been brilliant,” he told The Star. “I had the opportunity to come in, there was a role there to be the U18s assistant. And listen, I’m also 10 minutes away - so it was a no-brainer for me. The club means something to me, so when you’ve got that sort of connection there’s no question. I’ve really enjoyed it.

"There’s a big difference from being a player to being a coach, so I’ve still got a lot of learning to do, but I feel like I’m learning quickly, I’m really enjoying it, and we’ve got a few young promising players coming through.”

The 37-year-old went on to praise young Bailey Cadamarteri following his breakout season after climbing up the ranks at the club’s academy, saying that he should act as an inspiration for those looking to follow in his footsteps under Danny Röhl.

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Coke said, “Bailey’s done unbelievably well, he’s come in in a really difficult situation with the club not doing well at all. For him to come in as a young lad into a team low on confidence and do what he’s done, score some important goals, he deserves a lot of credit. It offers a big message for the youth team, if they can see that then there’s no reason why they can’t do the same thing.”

You can watch the former Owls midfielder, as well as another popular ex-Wednesday defender, Daniel Pudil, discussing the CADF event in the video at the top of the page.