Once Harry Kewell decided to end his playing career last year he could have taken it easy.

Spending his days relaxing on the beaches in his native Australia with his wife and four kids must have been appealing.

Perhaps watching the Ashes – although maybe we shouldn’t mention that. Or simply taking time away from football after a gruelling 18 years as a high-profile professional player.

So, quite simply, why did a former Champions League winner decide to take charge of Watford’s Under-21 side this summer? And become so excited at the prospect he didn’t even ask what salary he might be paid.

“It’s not about the money for me and you can forget my playing career. It is a fresh start,” he said. “For me it is an opportunity to discover what I want to be. I feel like I am a 15-year-old apprentice again. That is how I see myself.”

So how did Kewell - who played in the World Cup for his country and won a Champions League title with Liverpool – end up at Watford.

Interestingly it started with former Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur defender Ben Thatcher.

“I know a few people in football and it was Ben who made the first contact [on Kewell’s behalf] with Watford and (sporting director) Luke Dowling,” he explained.

“Then when I received the phone call [about joining] I thought he was lying. You just don’t get an opportunity like that.”

The 36-year-old added: “There are a lot of players who want to get into coaching but first you have to work out what you want to do in football.

“Some players become managers. Others become assistants. Others work in the youth sides. There are different opportunities all the way through a club.”

Kewell, who is living in Islington with his family, spoke to the media for the first time since his appointment on Wednesday.

He came across as down to earth and funny but eager to learn. There was no arrogance. No ego. Kewell knows his place in the coaching set-up at Watford and will not overstep his mark. He appreciates he isn’t ready.

“I want to eventually become a manager,” he said. “But only if I am good enough for it. Everyone has got to start somewhere.

“I don’t care what anyone else says. You can’t stand in front of 30 professional footballers and start dictating to them if you’ve retired as a player and gone straight into management.

“In football you only get one debut. One chance to make that first impression and that lasts forever.

“If you’re a manager and you don’t impress the players in that first instance - and trust me I’ve been there - you are like ‘Nah, forget about it’.”

He continued: “My playing career allows me to pick and choose a few things that can help the players. What I do not say is ‘well I did this in training or I did this in games’.

“It is not about that. It’s all about the players and producing them for the first team. When the first team were getting on the bus [for the match at Everton] I got my players all together and asked who was disappointed not to be on the bus?

“It took them a little while but then they all put their hands up. That is the opportunity they are working for.

“I’m realistic. I am not going to get the whole Under-21 team into the first team. But if I am able to ensure they’re ready as individuals to go into the first-team and stay there I’ve done my job.”

That job is not an easy one. And it’s becoming harder. Kewell is attempting to mould players who can effortlessly make the transition from Academy football to Premier League football.

It’s an incredibly difficult jump to make. Watford can’t afford to risk their top flight status by blooding a group of talented youngsters, especially when it’s easy to go out and buy the finished article.

Kewell is aware of the challenges in front of him. He knows he has a responsibility to help shape not only young footballers but young men.

It is something he is relishing despite having to learn on the job. He joined Watford in the middle of pre-season, a point of the campaign where double training sessions were routine.

“The first week blew my mind,” Kewell admitted. “I actually had headaches because I had so much information to take on board.

“The young players that I have now are good. They need a little bit of polishing but there is no reason why they can’t force their way into the first team squad.

“The problem with football now is you have got to stay up. It’s a fight. You can’t always wait for that player to develop so you go out and buy one.

“That does hurt if you’re a young player. However, life is not easy. Young players need to fight and earn their chance. They have to understand it is dog-eat-dog.

“Once you get that first-team jersey you’ve got to fight even harder to hold on to it because there will be another young player coming up behind you wanting that jersey.”

It’s an admirable attitude and one Kewell says Hornets boss Quique Sanchez Flores subscribes to. The Spaniard has stated in the past he has no interest in how old a player is. If they are good enough then they’ll play.

Time will tell if that is the case. For Kewell though it was vital to have a head coach who would value his efforts rather than ignore them.

“Like I said earlier the first impression counts for everything,” Kewell explained. “When I spoke to Watford [about joining] first and foremost I wanted to meet the manager. I wanted to find out if he genuinely liked me.

“I didn’t want to come in and then him say ‘no, I’m not interested’. That is not a great vibe for the club.

“However, from the first moment I met him (Flores) he was solid with me and very confident.

“I’ve seen managers work with Under-21 coaches in the past and they are just not interested. The manager has their first-team squad and that is it. They don’t really care.

“Quique wants to know [what is happening with the club’s young players] and that is what I was happy about.

“I am not going to start telling him what to do but I want to make sure I am involved to a point where I can watch and my players will be involved.

“He is very open to that. He wants young players to push the first-team. After all, if nobody is pushing the first-team they will go soft.”

During his playing career Kewell worked under several high-profile managers. He started at Leeds United under George Graham. “He was a general,” the former winger said.

Then came David O’Leary. A telling “no comment” was all Kewell offered. At Liverpool Gerard Houllier was an excellent communicator. “You hear a Frenchman talk about football and you fall in love with them. I think it’s the accent,” he joked.

Former Reds boss Rafa Benitez a tactical expert. And with the Australian national team Kewell worked under “one of the best” in Guus Hiddink (below)

Watford Observer:

However, it was his spell at Galatasaray, where Frank Rijkaard was his boss, which seems to have left a lasting impression.

“The way he saw football blew my mind,” Kewell said.

“I thought I could see things [tactically] in football but he was different. When he stopped training I’d ask ‘why are you stopping? I can see this’. He’d then say ‘but have you seen this? Or that? Or that?’ I just stood there and thought wow.”

Perhaps one day Watford’s young players will look back and say the same for Kewell. He is at the start of his second career and knows there is plenty he can learn. But his enthusiasm and passion is infectious.

“If you want to be the best you’ve got to challenge the best,” he said. “There is no better place to challenge than in the Premier League. If I can do that then the world is my oyster.”