Following Family Ties

It’s not uncommon for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps – but that’s no mean feat when you’re on the path of an international goalkeeper who has played and coached at the very highest level of the game.

- Mike Taylor

That’s the exact story of Alan Kelly Jr, who ticked off another part of that preceding journey last week by answering David Unsworth’s call to become Everton’s goalkeeper coach.

Under the stewardship of manager Howard Kendall and assistant Colin Harvey, his father, Alan Sr, had taken up the same role in the mid-1980s, coaching arguably the Club’s greatest-ever custodian, Neville Southall.

“There’s a little bit of history there, with my old man having been here as a coach previously as well,” the younger Kelly explains. “I’ve followed in his footsteps, first at Preston, then with Ireland and now at Everton. It makes me very proud.

“I spent a lot of time at Bellefield as a young lad in the mid-’80s, stood behind the goals watching the likes of Graeme Sharp, Adrian Heath and all of those famous players of that era. It was a really memorable experience for me to see it all in action.

“We fast forward to today and you get the call to come here yourself. It was a fantastic feeling to be asked to get involved.”

Facing the prospect of co-ordinating his first senior training session since taking charge without a goalkeeper coach, Unsworth had no hesitation who he wanted for the role.

He called Kelly, with whom he’d worked at Preston North End during a stint as caretaker manager, full of hope.