Defender Zesh Rehman Speaks About Coaching, Brighton and QPR

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PFA's Give Me Football - Zeshan Rehman - QPR
After falling down the pecking order at QPR, defender Zeshan Rehman made the decision to join Brighton on loan at the end of last season with a view to getting some games under his belt. With two years left on his contract at Loftus Road, Rehman has since returned to Loftus Road and will be hoping to force his way into manger John Gregory's plans for next season. Rehman, who became the first Pakistani and British Asian to play in the Premiership whilst with his first club Fulham, has been busy this summer undertaking his Level 3 UEFA B coaching badge on one of the PFA-run courses and givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with the former England Youth international.

Q DID YOU ENJOY THE COACHING COURSES?
AIt went very well. There were a lot of current professionals, some ex-pros and others who had dropped out of the game on the course but everyone gelled together very quickly. Some of the days were a bit long though, because the 8 v 8 sessions were all done one after the other, but we all managed to get through it.

Q AT AGE OF 23, YOU SEEM PRETTY YOUNG TO BE TAKING YOUR SENIOR COACHING QUALIFICATIONS?
A A couple of years ago I took my Level 2 badge and it really helped me think about the game in a different way and the following season I had a really good campaign. I definitely think undertaking these courses can improve my overall game and I hope that will be the case again next season. I've spoken to a lot of older pros and retired ex-players during the course and a lot of them said they wished they had taken their coaching badges ten years ago.

Q SO I HAVE YOU COMPLETED THE COURSE NOW?
ANo, now I have to go away and do my 12 hours of practical coaching and then when I feel I'm ready to be examined I'll go for my final assessment.

Q WHAT WAS YOUR REASON BEHIND THE DECISION TO JOIN BRIGHTON ON LOAN AT THE END OF LAST SEASON?
A To be honest I wasn't playing for QPR and I don't like sitting around not playing so it was a case of getting some competitive matches under my belt. The Brighton manager rang me up and asked if I was prepared to sign for a month and I thought it was a good opportunity to get some playing time.

Q ARE YOU HOPING JOHN GREGORY GIVES YOU A CHANCE AT QPR NEXT SEASON? A I'd like to think so. He phoned me a couple of times while I was at Brighton and told me that he'd heard I was doing well so now it's a question of me going back there and fighting for a place in the team. I've got two years left on my contract at QPR and we'll just have and see how things go during pre-season.

Q BEING THE FIRST PAKISTANI AND BRITISH ASIAN TO PLAY IN THE PREMIERSHIP, DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS A ROLE MODEL TO A LOT OF ASIAN YOUNGSTERS?
AI've often been described as that but I don't want to place too much of an extra burden on myself. If people from Asian backgrounds look up to me that's great and I've always done a lot of work with the PFA and the Kick Racism out of Football campaign at every club I have been at. I get a lot of letters and e-mails from young Asians and I always try to give them as much encouragement and advice as I can.
PGA