Adam El-Abd eyes coaching career as he helps at Whitehawk

But that doesn’t mean he plans to end his playing days any time soon.

The former Albion defender coached some sessions with Hawks under-18s last season on his way to a UEFA A Licence.

He intends to remain involved as he eyes a career in coaching or management.

El-Abd has one season left on his current deal with Wycombe Wanderers.

But he is set on staying in the game when those playing days end.

That plan all starts on Thursday nights with the Hawks boys.

Adam El-Abd as a young player with Albion

He told The Argus: “It seems like a natural progression for me. My passion is football.

“You can’t beat playing and that has been a big part of my life since 16. I don’t want to give that up.

“There is the potential to become a coach after my playing days are over. That could be a new career – or as a manager.

“I still feel I have got another three or four years left to play.

“But I wanted to make sure I was qualified to go on to work with an academy or an under-23s or something more senior at some stage.”

El-Abd came through the Albion youth set-up and played in League One and the Championship.

But he recognises there are more routes available for young players in Sussex and that making it with the Seagulls is getting tougher all the time.

He said: “Jude (Macdonald, Whitehawk manager) was very helpful and put me in touch with their under-18s manager, Del Tobias. They are a good group. There is some real potential there.

“I’m looking forward to doing some more this year. It helps me develop as a coach and keeps my hand in. If I can help one or two become professionals, fantastic.”

Not that his track record of 342 first-team games for Albion always cuts a lot of ice. He said: “Some of the boys there don’t remember me playing for Brighton.

“There are 16-year-olds and they don’t know I played for the Albion. That is actually quite nice. But there is a lot of talent there.

“It’s hard now. There was a chance of younger players breaking through at Brighton when I was there but they are signing Premier League footballers now and they really need the finished article.

“It’s very difficult for the local boy aged 18 or 19 to break through.

“But if you look at the catchment area of Brighton, it’s massive. It must be one of the biggest in the country.

“You don’t necessarily have to come through the Albion set-up.

“There is a big net which extends outside the Albion academy.

“There is no one route or one right way to do it.

“You look at someone like Russell Martin, who was released by Brighton but went on to play in the Premier League and for his country.

“If you really want to be a footballer, it’s still there for you.”

Thriving junior sections at Sussex clubs like Whitehawk – and they are by no means the only ones – are another avenue for young players to try.

Or, indeed, young and ambitious coaches.

El-Abd said: “Wycombe have no under-23s, no under-18s, no academy, it’s just the first team.

“I’m a first-team player so it’s not really right for me to start coaching them as well.

“If we had a 23s or an 18s it would be ideal. I could stay behind and take a couple of sessions during the week.

“I’ve got one year left on my contract. I played 37 games last season and my body felt really good.

“I don’t see myself retiring next year. I want to play on as long as I can. But you never know. Other people might not agree. It might not be up to me.

“Each year that goes by, the manager wants younger players.

“I might only have one year left but, in my head, I am three or four years from retiring.

“I love playing. I love the buzz. I love that feeling when you win. I love it when you wake up on a Sunday and your body hurts and you feel like you have achieved something.

“I like the routine of being a professional footballer. It’s a world I want to stay in.”

El-Abd is from a well known sporting family and his brother Joe has already made a name for himself in the coaching world.

He helped Castres become rugby champions of France last year (pictured above) and has been involved with the England squad.

Adam is taking the first steps but Hawks will be happy to see him at the under-18s’ sessions. Macdonald, who used to take the youth team before stepping up to the seniors, said: “When I asked how it was going, Del said he had attended quite a lot of sessions, not just the ones when he was being assessed. It has been a quite a coup for us.

“We have been quite lucky with the quality of youth players who have come through Whitehawk.

“Brighton and Crawley are the only professional clubs in the county and Crawley don’t have a youth set-up. Not every kid will get into an academy.”