Former Wolves man Tony Daley looking to inspire next generation

And now Tony Daley is hoping to help uncover the next generation of future stars – after launching his own football coaching programme.

Daley has joined forces with his lifelong friend Dave Barnett – who was released by Wolves as a youngster and played for Blues and Barnet among others – to set up Pro Level Performance (PLP), a 30-week programme (one day a week for two hours) based in Aston which will focus on the mental side of the game as much as the physical.

Daley, who left Wolves this summer after a decade at the club working on fitness and sport science, said: “We have a wealth of experience to nurture the youth of today – this is a bespoke programme for aspiring young players.

"At my school there were five or six lads who were better footballers than me but the mental side is just as important, hence our motto ‘skill is not enough’."

Daley earned a sports science degree when retiring from the game and then rejoined Wolves as a fitness and conditioning specialist in 2007, nine years after leaving the club as a player.

He wants to put his wealth of experience in the game to good use.

"I've always wanted to set up my own business on the fitness side," Daley, who lives 10 minutes away from the Aston-based PLP facility, added. "As a consequence of leaving Wolves it gave me the opportunity to put that into practice.

"Me and Dave came together and thought we had something that worked.

"In my career, having the experience I've had, going back to university and doing a sports science degree has given me the education, learning on the job and being able to respond to footballers as well – applying all that has given me a wealth of knowledge that's really helped me in my career.

"I've had a fantastic career football-wise and still do now in the fitness industry.

"It's about giving something back and helping others. Yes it's our business too but we're also going to have a spin-off business where we help the community too.

"It's a natural thing for us to set something up here.

"We're not taking anything away from club academies – we're adding to them, to help make them great players so they can be great players at Wolves are elsewhere.

"Wolves is a Category 1 academy and does things correctly – it's top class."

Daley and Barnett have known each other since they were 11 at St George’s C of E in Aston.

PLP will work alongside football academies – as well as with released players. A strong emphasis will be placed on how to deal with anxiety and depression.

Barnett added: “The physical aspects in football so important but it’s the mindset that gets you over the line.

“The leap from under-23s to first-team football and playing in front of 30,000 people is huge – how can you transform that skill set so it doesn’t affect you if you have a bad game?"

Follow @ProlevelP on Twitter or visit www.prolevelperformance.co.uk for more details

* Tomorrow – Tony Daley on his time at Wolves and what he makes of the team's promotion prospects this season.