Former Perth Glory and Socceroos midfielder Neil Kilkenny eyeing coaching career following retirement

Retiring former Perth Glory premiership winner Neil Kilkenny is ready for the next stage of his career — and has his sights on coaching at the highest level possible. Kilkenny hung up his boots after Sorrento’s final NPL WA game of the season to bring down the curtain on a glittering career. Part of the Glory side who won the club’s first silverware of the A-League Men era with the 2018-19 premiers’ plate, Kilkenny played 84 games and scored 11 goals during his time out west. He won Perth’s Most Glorious Player award in 2019-20, helped Western United to an A-League grand final victory in 2022, played 15 times for the Socceroos and was in the Australia squads at the 2011 Asian Cup and 2008 Beijing Olympics. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a man who donned the captain’s armband throughout his career and led by example, he sees his future in the dugout. “I want to coach at the highest level possible. I’m ambitious and I want to pursue my career in coaching,” he said. “The character I am, I am very determined and focused on my goal and willing to work hard to achieve a career in football. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play at the highest level and hopefully I can do the same thing with head coaching and management.” Kilkenny has already taken his first steps into the coaching realm, heading up Football West’s academy as a football development officer and leading the WA under-16 side to a silver medal at the Emerging Socceroos Championships in July. The 39-year-old’s longevity in the game is a testament to the iron will and steely determination which defined his uncompromising on-field performances. A member of Arsenal’s academy, he played 18 English Premier League games for Birmingham City and spent nine seasons and more than 300 matches in the ultra-competitive and unforgiving English Championship and League One, representing Leeds United, Preston North End and Bristol City. When he returned to Australia, the combative midfielder played more than half of his 160 games with Glory and was named in the team of the season during Perth’s run to the grand final in 2018-19. “I’ve got very good memories of Glory. I loved it there, I didn’t want to leave, if I’m honest,” he said. “I wanted to finish my career playing there and that was the idea. But this is football, this is life, and you have a new manager or coach that comes in and these things change. “But it was really successful, I helped Glory win their first A-League trophy, which was a fantastic achievement for the whole squad. “Often in football a negative can turn into a positive and I was fortunate enough to go to Western United and help them win their first A-League grand final. “I’m really proud of my 20-year professional career and grateful for the playing career I’ve had.” That is not to say Kilkenny has no regrets over his nearly 20-year professional career. “I would have loved to have represented Australia in the World Cup, but not everything goes your way in football, which made me focus on the next thing. “I’ve played in nearly every major competition with the Australian national team, apart from the World Cup.” But for now, Kilkenny is focused on the future much more than reflecting on the past and eager to instill in the next generation the same desire which served him well. “Everyone wants to play this free flowing football, but ultimately, you can only play with the players you’ve got, so you’ve got to get the best out of the players. You have to be adaptable,” Kilkenny said. “The technique is important, but obviously the mental resilience as well, because you have to have a lot if you want to get to that very highest level, you’ve got to be very resilient in the mind.”