Walsall's Dean Holden knows the game

Catch the Saddlers player-coach on any subject and he is liable to talk for minutes on end.

In many ways, he is an interviewer's dream. In other respects, he's an interviewer's nightmare.

The trouble with Holden is so little of what he says can be easily discarded. He does not ramble. It's tough to know what to leave out.

The first question when we speak is on his decision to sign a new one-year deal as player-coach at the Banks's, continuing the role he took on 12 months ago. The question, simply, was it an easy one? It brings a six-minute response – longer than some entire interviews.

"I have really enjoyed it," he says. "I spoke last summer when I became player-coach that I was excited about it and it was something I wanted to get into, but obviously until you actually start doing it you don't always know.

"I have really, really enjoyed it. There is a lot which goes on behind the scenes which you don't consider as a player.

"At many clubs, with the role I'm doing with the younger lads, you obviously wouldn't necessarily see the first team side of things.

"But we have a small staff with the gaffer, Rich (Richard O'Kelly) and Cuts (Neil Cutler).

"I have seen quite a lot on the other side in terms of how things work, little meetings through the season.

"It's something I am passionate about anyway but to see how things pan out, the planning and the preparation which goes into a training session at Walsall is phenomenal.

"Was it an easy decision to carry on? Absolutely."

Listening to Holden, his passion for the game obvious, his voice quickening as he hits upon different subjects – whether it be the work he has done with the club's young professionals or the Saddlers' prospects for next season – it's no surprise he has worked regularly as a pundit on BBC Radio Manchester.

Holden still lives in his native Salford and commutes down the M6 each day. He is grounded, liking his tea 'dark and murky' – like the Manchester Ship Canal.

His is a playing career which began with Bolton in the second tier and took in stops at Oldham, Peterborough, Falkirk, Shrewsbury, Chesterfield and Rochdale before arriving at the Banks's.

Whether Walsall is the final stop for Holden before hanging up his boots remains to be seen.

He didn't feature for a minute last season, at first through the form of Paul Downing and Andy Butler and then through a knee injury which ruled him out of the second half of the campaign.

A new season on the horizon, he insists his playing days are not done.

"There was frustration at not playing last year but it depends how you show it," he says. "I love football and I am passionate about it.

"The gaffer and Rich know on any given season, whether I have played or not, if you need to throw me in I will be in tip-top condition because that's the sort of pro I am and they know I will be ready.

"I am nearly 35 and I have had a long career in the game. I have a lot of experience from that. But could I have picked the phone up this summer and gone and talked about playing somewhere else? Yes, possibly I could have done.

"But this just suits me perfectly. I love the fact he wanted to sign me as a player-coach.

"I get a real insight into how the coaching side of things works and that for me is priceless, invaluable, going into the future."

The immediate future may bear witness to the fruits of Holden's labours last term.

Tasked with taking charge of the club's young professionals, he had a direct impact in the development of players such as Reece Flanagan, Kieron Morris and Matt Preston. All three could have a part to play in the first team this season.

Holden's own future, eventually, looks destined to lead into full-time coaching. Earlier this summer, he was assessed for his UEFA A licence in Scotland and has developed a genuine fascination for the discipline.

But coaching is as far as he is prepared to look, for now.

"I have not even thought about being a manager or anything like that," he says. "I just want to get into the coaching. It's the training sessions I have a passion for.

"The coaching licences I have got set you up on a bit of a template and it's all about the sessions.

"If I have a Kieron Morris or Reece Flanagan in a training session the next day I'm getting my diary out and thinking what session can I do to help or improve him.

"I don't believe on just working on strengths or weaknesses, I believe on working on the two together. You look at someone like Reece and his passing range and you think right, what can he improve on? That is what I have a buzz for.

"The management side of things I wouldn't even think about for a moment. I'm enjoying my work here."

By Matthew Maher