'I'd never seen someone coach that way. Mikel was the one. He inspired me'

Jack Wilshere talks role models, marathon running and Arsenal as he revels in his new role as a budding coach

- Suzanne Wrack

If there are nerves when Jack Wilshere walks into the room and sits behind the table emblazoned with the England logo, they are not evident. The 33-year-old has been in press conference rooms many times as a player, but as a head coach it is an alien proposition. He is at St George's Park and is part of a cohort of 25 on the Uefa Pro Licence course who are briefed on a fictional scenario they might face as a head coach before they take a seat in front of a small group of journalists to be grilled on it.

The process is a little extreme and not entirely true to life, but it is designed to put them under pressure and test the media skills they have learned that day. The fictional scenarios are far from straightforward, but Wilshere is unfazed. There is a humanity, an honesty, and an all-around likability to him that means that when he steps away from the table after his interrogation there is little to fault.

When Wilshere, who in real life is a first-team coach at Norwich, sits down with the same journalists afterwards to be interviewed, those humble characteristics are mixed with a burning ambition. It is evident the pursuit of excellence that drove him as a player has been rechannelled into his coaching.