Phil Jones wants to move on and make a new name for himself in football.

The former Manchester United and England defender last kicked a ball three years ago, calling time on his playing career at the age of 31 after a series of injury problems restricted him to just 16 games in three seasons at Old Trafford. After taking time out to overcome the pain of retirement, he is now targeting a move into management.

Despite winning a Premier League, UEFA Europa League, English FA Cup and Carabao Cup with United, as well as a 27-cap England career that saw him make the squad for two FIFA World Cups and Euro 2012, Jones’ injury nightmare at Old Trafford came to define him as a player.

But, at 33, Jones is now on course for management, and he spoke to reporters during a UEFA Pro License media training session at St. George’s Park, England’s national football center, about his future, his time at Old Trafford and the challenges facing United coach Ruben Amorim as he attempts to bring success back to the club.

Q: What have you done since your playing retirement?

A: When I finished, to give myself a bit of focus after football, I embarked on a sporting directors course. As things started to progress, I decided to take my coaching qualifications and that really established for myself what I wanted to do.

I love being out on the grass, working with kids and watching players develop, and I don’t watch a game of football anymore because you analyze it a little bit differently.

So yeah, it’s given me a purpose. I’m really ambitious and it’s something that I really want to go into.

Q: How tough was the first year out of the game?

A: I think what was most difficult for me is that, as a footballer, you get told what to do every single day, you know what I mean?

Meetings at this time, prematch at this time, you’re on the bus for this time, training is at this time, right? You’ve got a couple of days off tomorrow, so away you go do what you want to do.

So when you find yourself at home and the missus is looking at you thinking, “Well, are you doing anything today?” it was difficult.

Footballers are like robots these days. You’re off one coach, on another flight, off that flight, back into this game, then training, so it was nice the first initial few weeks, but then after that, I wanted to do something.

Q: Everyone mentions your injuries. Can you remember when you realized you had to retire?

A: We had a Pro License task of selecting six pictures; three were personal, three were football. My football ones were one of me wearing England’s No. 7 shirt — David Beckham’s shirt for a friendly in Brazil — I was terrible!

Another one was winning the Premier League with United, something I never thought to dream about when I was growing up.

And the other one was a game against Wolves [in January 2022], which was my comeback game after 12 months out. I played the game when my knee was in bits, but just to get onto the pitch, honestly, it gives me goosebumps now, was the biggest achievement because I was down and out. I’d had so many operations, four or five, on my knee.

But as soon as I came off the pitch and everyone’s high-fiving, I just sat there because I knew it was probably one of the last games.

Q: What was your worst moment?

A: After I had a microfracture in my knee. I was out for 10 months, and I was so happy to get the surgery because I thought this is putting this to bed. But when I got back on the grass and started to pass the ball again, I was like, “Yeah, this hasn’t worked.”

People will say, “Well, you’ve got to play with a little bit of pain,” but this wasn’t just a little bit of pain.

[It was a] tough time.

If you’d have asked me about football six months after that, I wouldn’t have been able to speak about it. I couldn’t watch a game of football and I’ve never been that guy. I found myself getting really bitter towards the game and that’s not who I was, but I needed that time to reflect and come to terms with what happened and how it happened.

Q: How did you feel when you had to leave the players’ WhatsApp group?

A: Do you know what, it was quite an emotional moment — the most simple things to do. You’ve been on the WhatsApp group for years, sending people pictures and all sorts, and I remember sitting in the bedroom with messages saying, “It’s been a pleasure and blah, blah, blah.”

Some of the lads I have played with a lot, some have only just met, but you’re saying, “It’s been an absolute pleasure. I wish you all the best and I’ll be your biggest supporters.” And yeah, it was a tough moment actually.

Do you know what? I gave it a minute and there was no response to that. God, God, no one cares. Things move so quickly and people come and go. I played with people for six years, but I’ll never see them again. I’ll never speak to them. But that’s it. It’s football.

Q: You enjoyed success and tough times at United. How far away are they from winning titles again?

A: Listen, they’re going through a really tough time. There’s no getting away from, there’s no hiding. It’s been a really, really tough year.

Looking back as a player, it’s really difficult because a lot of my friends are still there. I speak to a lot of them and it’s never nice watching your friends go through a tough time, so I hope the new manager can enforce his ideas and get some reinforcements in the summer.

play

Dawson: Man United are the best club in the world at talking, not doing

Rob Dawson tells “The Football Reporters’ podcast that Manchester United fans won’t be happy with the direction of the club until there’s real evidence of change.

Q: Amorim has insisted he will play with three at the back. How difficult is it to go from a back four to back three?

A: When I was playing in a three, I liked to be the middle one because it’s less running. If your right wing-back jumps forward, the right center back has to jump as well. If you get that timing wrong slightly, the first person gets there late, the second person gets there later and, all of a sudden, you’re disjointed all over the pitch. So the timing of the press has got to be absolutely executed perfectly.

There’s a lot more thinking to it than playing the back four. The time that I had in the back three, we played it a few times with Louis van Gaal, and it took time to adapt — a long time to adapt. But we did get to a point where we were comfortable and every player knew the job, knew the role, what they had to do.

I think it works in certain games. I think there’s certain games where I can absolutely see why you play it. The United manager has been brought in to play a certain system and he’s going to stick with it and hopefully he can get the best out of the players.

Q: So Phil Jones the manager. What will he be like?

A: I don’t think you can be just a head coach and I don’t think you can be just a manager. I’ve seen managers be tremendous managers, but not so much on the grass and they’ve fallen short. And I’ve seen it the other way where they’ve been terrific head coaches but not quite have the understanding of the players and the management. In this day and age, you have to be both and you have to have a good understanding of both. It’s about managing players and managing people and managing egos.

I’m not naive enough to think that I’m going to become a head coach or a manager in the next two or three years. I understand that now I’m on the other side of the ladder where I’ve got to work myself up and build myself up. But I’m absolutely ready to do that.

When I visualize and I try to manifest where I want to be in five years’ time, I want to be the guy taking the team. I want to be the guy making the decisions and having support and backing from the club and the owners and choosing that right moment to step in at that time.

I’m a winner. I want to win games of football, and I win at all costs. Whether that means I have to change personnel or go down a different route to get results. It’s a results business game.