FORMER Southend United striker Daniel Webb is determined to follow in the foot-steps of his father David by carving out a successful career in coaching.

David is considered by many to be the best manager in the history of the Shrimpers.

And 36-year-old Daniel, who had spent eight seasons with Leyton Orient before leaving in February, is hungry to also become a hit in the dug-out.

“Growing up with my dad I was always around football management and I saw lots of highs and lows,” said Daniel, a former Southend High School pupil.

“There were more highs for him but it’s not until you start trying to climb the ladder that you realise it’s a long journey.

“Just because my dad is a well-known name in football I can’t just expect to walk into a big job.

“You have to earn it and I went through the academy which was great.

“But I’ve made my mind up I would like to be a first team manager one day.

“It’s not everyone’s thing.

“When some people finish playing they want to put the ball away and forget all about it but I still enjoy it and want to be a part of it.”

Daniel held several roles while at Orient and worked within the youth set-up before switching to coach the first team.

Daniel, who played for Ekco Whitecaps in his youth, also had 12 games as O’s manager in 2017 during a turbulent time for the East London side.

And he is eager to get back working once the coronavirus pandemic, which has halted the football season, finally comes to an end.

“I want to continue to be myself and work with good people,” said Daniel, who lives in Billericay. 

“After this virus I think there will be a complete reset of football.

“Lots of coaches will be going for jobs they never thought they would go for. It’s going to be a real rat run sadly and it’s going to be tough for everyone.

“The money is going to drop everywhere and jobs will be hard to get.

“I know where I want to get in the long run but in the meantime I just want to be back working in football and helping to produce players.”

But when that happens Daniel may not do things the same way his dad did during three spell “I’m a different person to my dad but I do have traits of his and all the other managers I played for really,” said Daniel.

“The benefit of being a journeyman as a player is that you have a lot of managers you learn from. But the biggest influences were my dad and Justin Edinburgh.

"It’s tragic what happened to him but I learnt so much from him and it would be nice to take that forward into my next role.”

And Webb also active, before the coronavirus pandemic, by helping out with Southend United's youth team.

"I didn’t want to go stale," explained Webb.

"I know Ricky Duncan really well as well as Danny Heath and it was great to be able to stay around football people.

"The easy option is to go round watching games and sit on your sofa every day but luckily Ricky gave me a chance to go in every day.

"I helped Heathy who is a very good coach and he will go places because he listens and wants to take things on.

"They’re a really good bunch there and they have a good history of producing players, similar to Leyton Orient.

"It was nice but obviously that had to stop because of the virus.

"But hopefully everyone can back to their own jobs soon."