It was my connection with former Leeds, Sheffield United and Benfica player Brian Deane that first took me to Norway in 2012.

We were put in touch by a mutual friend when Brian was doing his badges and looking for somewhere to get some coaching hours in. He came down to Leeds University and got stuck in.

We worked well together from the start.

So, when Sarpsborg – a small club in Norway’s top division – offered Brian his first management role a few years later, he asked me to go as his assistant.

We filled in each other’s gaps. He had the playing experience and understanding of what happens on a daily basis at the professional level that I didn’t. And I had the thousands of hours of coaching experience that he didn’t.

From talking to ex-players, I think that’s the hardest thing about going immediately from playing into coaching. You need someone who’s done those training sessions. Someone who has lots of ideas and knows how to adapt when it’s necessary.

“We were embraced by the players. A lot of them had only had Norwegian coaches before, so they were quite excited by new ideas and new training sessions”

I was nervous going into the job. I kept thinking of all the things I’d been told about how I might be perceived when I got to pro level: how the players would respond to me and my training sessions.

But you quickly realise that the majority of top players want to be better, so they’re going to look for you to help them. If you put on good sessions and communicate well with them, they’re open-minded.

Sarpsborg had just been promoted when we went in, so our remit in that first season was simple: keep them up.

Despite a rough patch in the summer when we ended up bottom of the league, we managed to do that. And in our second season we improved, finishing eighth and reaching the semi final of the Norwegian Football Cup. That was really good for a small club.

Those two seasons were a big learning curve for both of us, but we were embraced by the players. A lot of them had only had Norwegian coaches before, so they were quite excited by new ideas and new training sessions.