Ex-Rovers skipper Charlie Mulgrew outlines managerial aim

Former Rovers skipper Charlie Mulgrew has opened up about his next chapter in the game and ambition to go into management.

Mulgrew decided to hang up his boots last year after racking up more than 500 appearances during spells with Celtic and Aberdeen among others. He was also a regular for Scotland on the international stage.

The 38-year-old has since taken on his first coaching role at Hamilton, managing the club’s Under-18 side.

Mulgrew is relishing the opportunity and hopes to pass on his knowledge and experience to the next generation of talent.

“Right now, I am doing a bit of coaching up here with Hamilton U18s,” he told Under the Cosh Podcast.

“I have got ambitions to go into management in the future but it is about learning first and seeing where it takes me.

“I am passionate about how I see the game and want to put my best foot forward, pass my experiences on.

“I took lessons from every single manager and coach I have worked under. I think it is important to put your own style on it and not just go, ‘I am going to be like him or him’.

“There are a lot of things I like and a lot of things I have felt myself. Playing loads of games at centre-back and seeing the game – how it would be better defensively and when we have the ball.

Mulgrew helped Rovers clinch promotion from League One (Image: CameraSport - Rachel Holborn)

“Having downloaded all that information in my head through playing in games, I want to put that into my management and also add things.”

Mulgrew is hungry to learn in his new role and is not putting a timeframe on his goal of eventually managing in senior football.

“I don’t want to say that I will give myself three years or 18 months,” the former Rovers man explained.

“I just want to get as much experience as I can and if an offer comes along, then it is worth a conversation about what is the club’s ambition? Do I fit in?

“If in a month’s time that comes up and everything fits... it is never going to be perfect but of course.”

The Scot also discussed his time at Ewood Park, where he was part of the side that won promotion from League One under Tony Mowbray.

Mulgrew arrived at Rovers in the summer of 2016 following a six-year stay at Celtic, where he had initially progressed as youngster.

However, his first season in East Lancashire was a tough one with the side eventually relegated to the third tier.

Mulgrew played a key role the following year as Rovers made an immediate return, scoring 14 goals including a memorable winner at Doncaster to clinch promotion.

When asked about leaving Celtic and heading to Ewood, he replied: “It was a weird one because I was open to staying but I had one eye on potentially something different.

“The way it worked out was fine, I was happy with my time at Blackburn and getting another chance (in England) because I might always have regretted that.

“It didn’t start well but we got promoted and it was a good time, I had a good relationship with the boys, the staff and the fans.

“I had a good time off the pitch, I stayed in Wrea Green just outside Lytham St Anne’s. I loved it, it was something completely different.”