Monday morning. The start of a new week, a new chapter, a new life. I woke up at 6 am, the familiar pre-dawn darkness a comforting blanket. But this morning, there was no rush to get to the training ground, no team to prepare, no match to win. There was just me, a laptop, and the biggest opportunity of my life.
Emma was already up, a cup of coffee in her hand, her laptop open on the kitchen table. She looked up as I entered, a determined glint in her eye.
"Okay, Coach Walsh," she said, a smile on her face. "Let's get you that job."
And so it began. Two weeks of the most intense, all-consuming preparation I had ever undertaken. Two weeks to transform myself from a non-league manager into a Premier League academy coach. Two weeks to become the person Crystal Palace needed me to be.
We started with a plan. Emma, with her journalist's love of structure and deadlines, created a detailed schedule for the next two weeks.
Monday: Research Crystal Palace Academy.
