A FORMER Oldham Athletic player has signed up to help the next generation of talent as Saddleworth FC celebrates its 10th anniversary.
And new director of football David Beresford believes his experiences can benefit both the children on the pitch and the parents off it.
The ex-winger, who played alongside the likes of David Beckham and Paul Scholes with England at youth level, was a history maker himself.
Just two weeks after his 17th birthday, he made his Latics’ senior debut in the Premier League.
Now he has joined Saddleworth FC after moving to Grasscroft, he hopes to help stars of the future develop.
Beresford, who works as a PE teacher at Rochdale’s Wardle academy, where coach James Glennie is headteacher, said: “Grassroots football is where it all starts, isn’t it?
“I think it’s so important and people don’t realise how important it is. They have the mindset of going to a club like an academy or whatever.
“But this is where it starts. I think it’s great the fact that people give their own time up to come back and offer something back to the community.
“Just seeing the amount of kids at a training session on a Saturday morning shows how popular it is, doesn’t it?
“And to see so many people giving up their time, I think it’s great.
“James is actually my boss at Wardle Academy and said, ‘Oh, I might have a little bit of a project for you if you fancy it.’
“So, I said, ‘Well, what’s that’ He introduced me to the chair, Mike Leyland. We had a chat and I think it’s great.
“It’s about enjoyment, people wanting to turn up.”
Beresford, who has a master’s degree in spirting directorship to his name, can also point Saddleworth FC in the right direction away from the pitch.
And that means helping coaches realise there is more to being a good coach than showing skills and teaching parents their child is not likely to be the net Lionel Messi or Cristian Ronaldo.
He added: “I think it’s really important the way that coaches interact with the young people
“It’s positive, building up positive relationships. I think sometimes people lose sight of that. These are little people.
“We speak with them with respect, manners and we want them to turn up every week, don’t we?
“I think it’s the importance of the way the coaches lead, the way they speak to the young people and the way they speak to parents as well. I think it’s positively important.
“At Oldham, we had a centre of excellence kind of system, not an academy system as it is today.
“The interactions with coaches and parents were hugely influential. It was great sometimes, but also sometimes it was a little bit questionable. Some kids didn’t want to come back.
“And parents can sometimes be the worst. My son plays grassroots football. Sometimes I have to remind the parents there that the coaches are voluntary. They’re giving up their time.
“Without these people running the clubs, my child wouldn’t play football. They are volunteers.
“It’s a difficult ball to juggle because I know everyone pays the monthly subs every month.
“They want game time, they want development time, and it’s a very difficult job for coaches to rotate with people in there but also be competitive as well.
“You don’t turn up every week to get beat, but you also don’t turn up every week to not develop and not improve.
“And I think that aligns back to your values.
“How do you win with respect? How do you win gracefully? How do you win in the right manner? It’s building those kinds of values throughout.”
Beresford faced the ultimate inquisition after about 40 primary school aged children were put through their paces at Saddleworth School.
For questions like, ‘Who’s the best player you’ve ever played with?’ were thrown at him.
And he has joined up at the right time as Saddleworth FC, formerly known as Saddleworth Strikers, turn 10.
It will mark a decade with a party for the younger kids on May 17, a tour to the Isle of Man in June and an Ibiza Club Classics night in March 2026
Mike said: “I made contact with Dave and he’s only too happy to help advise on the club’s growth and support our coaches.
“We’re using director of football as a slightly tongue-in-cheek title, but he will be a huge asset to our teams.”
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