Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton has said that he wants to emulate the success tasted by the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino in management.
Barton, who was announced as the new manager of the League One outfit in April, returned to football on Monday after serving a lengthy ban for illegal betting.
The 35-year-old has spoken of a link between former midfielders and success in management, and Barton has said that he would like to continue the trend.
"If you look at it, slow plodding midfielders tend to become good managers. Look at many great managers and they tend to be of a certain type," the Fleetwood boss told reporters. "Pep Guardiola is the best coach but was a midfielder who had no pace and no skills. Mauricio Pochettino was of the similar profile.
"Zinedine Zidane may buck the trend but he was a midfielder! I am taking great refuge in the fact that midfielders tend to make really good coaches.
"I had no skills, I wasn't really big, wasn't really quick and wasn't really strong. So to survive as long as I did I had to be able to scheme so hopefully that will help me."
Barton featured in the Premier League for Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers among others, while also having a stint in France with Marseille.
Jonny Whitfield
