It is during a discussion about old-fashioned values and maintaining standards that Seamus Coleman reveals, unexpectedly, that his plans for later life have changed.

Coleman reached a significant milestone in January, with the 10th anniversary of his move to Everton. Sligo Rovers pocketed £60,000 when he crossed the Irish Sea in 2009 and the service he has provided defines him as one of the Premier League's greatest value-for-money signings.

The intention, back then, was to squeeze every last drop out of himself before disappearing back to Killybegs, a fishing village in Donegal, where — in his words — he was going to 'play Gaelic football and nobody would see or hear from me again'. That vision, however, is on hold.

Seamus Coleman's plans for later life have changed as he now has ambitions to be a manager

'I have been in touch with the people back home about starting my badges,' says Coleman. 'I wanted to start in the summer that I broke my leg (2017) but, me being me, I thought everyone would be thinking, "He must be worried about getting back from his injury."

'So I parked it until I got back. I might start this summer, we'll see, but it's something I'm interested in. I sit at home and study football, I watch managers in training. I try to learn. I'm football mad, really. Football is my life. I want to be a manager. It's something I definitely want to do.'

We will talk more about the future later but first there are so many topics to cover. It is uncommon for players to spend 10 years at one club these days, even rarer for them to be plucked from the wilderness and forge successful careers, but this is what 30-year-old Coleman has done.

The Everton man originally had his heart set on going back to Killybegs to play Gaelic football

Our meeting takes place at Finch Farm after an event in support of World Down's Syndrome Day. Coleman and his team-mate Yerry Mina, alongside club ambassador Ian Snodin, play in a game with the Everton's Down's Syndrome team and the smiles on everyone's faces afterwards show its success.

Causes such as these matter to Coleman. His eldest brother, Stevie, has cerebral palsy so he understands the challenges that disabilities present, but it also matters to him as he takes pride in representing Everton and upholding the traditions he was taught on his arrival.

Everton, who travel to West Ham for Saturday's 5.30pm kick-off, are a proper club but it would not be wrong to say they have lost some of the identity that defined them when David Moyes was the manager of a squad that had big characters and went about their business in the right way.

'The little things were so important then,' he explains. 'You weren't late. You didn't leave things lying around. If you did, you were told — and that's the way it should be. It's important to keep the old school values but I definitely think it is getting harder and harder to do.

'I think I have been brought up the right way. If it is a simple thing like saying hello to someone in the corridor or opening a door, saying, "Good morning, how are you?", just have some manners and say please and thank you when you ask someone for something.

I definitely want to be a manager. I'm football mad. It is my life. I study it, try to learn

'The younger generation is changing. By no means are they bad eggs but it's just different and you can pull your hair out at times. That's why it is a lot harder for managers. Back in the day if I did something wrong, David would let me know.'

Delving for those memories of Moyes combusting brings a wince then a smile. 'Oh God! There were a few!' Coleman says, laughing.

'I remember games when I hadn't played well and in the two or three days after, he would walk past you on the corridor and he would have this look on his face and you'd think, "Jesus... he's not having me at the minute!"

'I'd say there were times when players sank under that pressure. But for me, it was a case of thinking, "You know what? He's right". What is the point of going home and complaining about the manager when, deep down, you know he is right? So you get your head down, crack on and improve.'

Coleman spoke with Sportsmail after an event in support of World Down's Syndrome Day

He's been at Everton for 10 years now and reminisced about old times under David Moyes

The Irishman credited Moyes with helping him get his head down and work on improving

Determination took Coleman a long way. When he tells the story of his transfer, there is an unusual reaction of his shoulders slumping.

He was so consumed by homesickness during his first three months on Merseyside that he didn't want to leave his hotel room.

'I don't know what made me get through it,' he says. 'I think it's either in you or it isn't. It's a steely determination, the will. I remember (Sligo Rovers manager) Paul Cook telling me on a Thursday afternoon, they had an offer for me and I was going over to Everton for a medical the next day.

'Instead of being elated I was like... oh (Coleman's shoulders slump). This was what I had wanted, of course it was, but I was moving away from my family, from my girlfriend Rachel, who is now my wife. I'd never even been away from home. Then all of a sudden you are in this big city.

'I dropped my bags in my hotel room and just climbed into bed. This wasn't, "Oh my God! I'm so excited! I've just signed for Everton!" This was "Oh my God... I'm away from home, I'm away from everyone". I never said it to anyone. I kept it away from everyone, I just tried to do my best.

'I wasn't depressed, I was just homesick. I didn't want to mix with anyone outside of training. Of course I mixed with them while I was at the training ground but I didn't want to do anything else. I just came over here for the football. That was it.'

He came over to succeed and Coleman has certainly done that. Five years ago he was in the PFA team of the year and his dashing raids from right back have yielded 25 goals in 283 appearances. He has captained his club and captained his country.

Coleman has been a success at Everton despite an initial battle with home sickness

His form has fluctuated this season by his own admission, but he is physically in his best shape

His form has fluctuated this season, but physically he is running faster and further than he did before Wales defender Neil Taylor shattered his leg in a World Cup qualifier two years ago and Coleman believes he is fitter than he has ever been.

'The thing I struggle with now is when I have a bad game,' he explains. 'I've had more bad games than I would like this season but if I play badly, it's always down to the leg break. Believe me, I had plenty of bad games before the leg break. I just haven't played well.'

Such honesty is endearing. He doesn't duck the fact that the Goodison Park crowd have been on his back — he cupped his ear to the Gwladys Street after scoring against Brighton in November — and he won't dispute that Everton's results have not been up to standard.

He's taken stick recently and cupped his ear to Gwladys Street after scoring against Brighton

Despite his reaction in November, Coleman insisted taking flak is just part and parcel of the job

'I live in Liverpool and I am proud to do that,' he says. 'It gives you the best perspective. You know what Scousers are like: if it's good, they will tell you; if it isn't, they will tell you. That's fine - but if we lose a game, I don't even want to go and get a pint of milk.

'We can't keep chopping and changing. No, no, no, no. Managers need to implement their own style. Look at Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino. They didn't hit the ground running. It took them time, one or two years. Marco Silva is a workaholic and we are not far away.

'We get paid a fortune. Fans are working nine to five and Everton is their lives. It's not a job. It's their lives. If they aren't happy with my performances, no problem whatsoever. It's up to me to improve. You have got to take it. If I get stick on TV or in the papers, sure, that's fine. It's part of the job.'

Everton crashed out of the FA Cup fourth round after Murray Wallace's later winner in January

Coleman praised Marco Silva's work ethic and feels he's steering them in the right direction

Losing clearly hurts Coleman but does it hurt other players as much? He pauses. 'For me, it should be your life but you can't expect everyone to be just like you,' he replies.

'Some people might just be very good at football and like other things more. I don't know whether they come in and just treat it as a job, but, for me, It has to be your everything. It has to be your life.'

This, neatly, brings us back to the future. He talks like a manager so, 10 years from now, will he be standing on the sidelines at Goodison? The suggestion raises a smile.

'My desire is to win a trophy here,' Coleman says. 'When you go out to Millwall in the FA Cup as we did, when you talk about how you react to results, God that was hard to take. This clubs needs a cup run.

'It needs a trophy to get us going. But if managing can happen, then why not? I know it's not easy nowadays and there are all sorts of top managers out there. But you have got to believe things are possible. In life you have got to have dreams.'