Michael Morrison is exploring every option available to him post-retirement - but a stint in Birmingham City’s dugout is near the top of his wish list.
Former St Andrew’s favourite Morrison has entered the twilight years of his career with League One side Cambridge United, five years on from his B9 departure. Morrison has played every single minute of Cambridge’s 38 league matches this term and plans to play on next season.
Morrison, who started his career with Cambridge and represented Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton, Blues, Reading and Portsmouth before re-joining the U’s last year, is eager to extend his playing days, even if his mind has started to wonder about what comes next.
“I still think there’s a lot of legs in me, I’ve played every game this season so I think that’s good going,” Morrison told the Keep Right On podcast. “Playing every game in League One, I think I warrant another season somewhere else or at Cambridge hopefully. I still want to play.
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“But you do have to realise that you are coming to the end. I have just turned 36, I’ve done my A licence and I’ve done my LMA diploma in football management.”
Morrison is clearly geared towards coaching, but there is another avenue more and more former players are venturing down. The increase in clubs using sporting directors has created another job for ex-professionals that requires an entirely different skillset.
Morrison has been educated on that now pivotal role behind-the-scenes. And he was joined in the classroom by one of his former Blues teammates.
“I have a master's degree in Sports Directorship which I did with Lukas Jutkiewicz. He moved a year back because he had a kid and he’s just finished that course and got a distinction so I was really pleased for him.
“I’m preparing for when you have to cross that line and go over the other side, be it coaching or I’ve just seen George Friend take the Bristol Rovers sporting director job, so there’s lots of different opportunities and I just want to make sure I’m qualified academically and have the experience.”
Morrison and Jutkiewicz have discussed the idea of becoming a coaching double-act. If that does come to fruition, a stint in charge of Blues - for whom they have appeared 512 times and counting - could be in the offing.
“Lukas has got a bit of work to do to get on my staff,” laughed Morrison. “I don’t want to just say I want to be a manager because you might end up somewhere else, but I’ve been captain at clubs I’ve been at and led teams, so I think it’s a natural progression.
“If somebody asked me if I’d like to be the manager of Birmingham one day, I would certainly hope that I’d done well enough to get that opportunity. It’s a massive club.”
