'Leads by example' Inside Derby County loanee Dan Cox's journey to Walsall
Walsall loanee Dan Cox took a few moments to gather his bearings on his Bescot bow against his parent club Derby County on Tuesday night.
Once he did, you could visibly see him grow in confidence, but his slaloming run from deep inside own half still brought a smile to his former Belvedere Park youth coach Richard Beard.
"I always used to make him laugh because I said if he goes past the halfway line then he'll get a nosebleed. He has got a bit better since then mind," Beard joked.
"He has always played in defence and has always been a big lad for his age group. You could tell he was going to be a decent player, even at that age, and he would always play a year below because he was that good."
Early roots with Belvedere
Cox started with Belvedere Park aged seven and spent two years in a team which also included Liverpool midfielder Kade Gordon and Stoke City striker Emre Tezgel.
His links with Belvedere soon led him to Derby County when he was discovered by youth coach Josh Butler.
"Josh used to take some of our sessions and he was also managing the development teams at Derby," Beard revealed.
"He used to work for a company called Soccer Stars so he saw Dan at one of the summer camps. We signed him from Belvedere and then the rest was history."
Decade at Derby
