Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones offers advice on how to be a successful manager

Former Premier League and current Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has been offering advice to UCFB students on how to become a football manager without having a professional playing career.

Nathan, who has previously managed clubs including Luton Town, Stoke City and Southampton, visited UCFB Wembley to give guidance and words of wisdom to our students.

While on his visit to UCFB, Nathan spoke about how it’s more than possible to become a top-class manager within football without having a professional playing career.

Nathan played football professionally, predominantly in the Football League, playing for teams such as Yeovil Town and Brighton and Hove Albion, where he earned three league promotions.

As a manager, he has managed more than 350 matches across all four professional leagues in England, earning promotion from League Two in 2018 as manager of Yeovil Town, before a further promotion from League One with Charlton Athletic in 2025.

He spoke to UCFB students about how they were more than able to become successful managers, and how some great players do not necessarily make the best managers.

When asked about this, he said: “Work hard, be clear on what you want to do and then learn. You have to learn. There’s no God-given right to you being a good player that you’re going to be a good manager.

“What you have (with a playing career) is a little bit of a head start because you understand how football works, how players work, and you’ve played in games where the fundamentals come into play that you can then pass on.

“Some of the best players don’t make the best managers, and some of the people who have never had careers or haven’t had stellar careers turn into some of the best managers.

“For me, it’s all about learning. So, if you learn how to become that, you will. All a playing career gives you is an education that not everyone will have had, but it’s not the be all and end all.”

UCFB offers a wide range of football coaching-related degree courses, including BA (Hons) Football Coaching and Talent Development and BA (Hons) Football Coaching and Management.

Find out more about these courses, as well as many more tailored to the sports industry.

You can also kick off your sports industry career by viewing a UCFB prospectus.