Former Bristol City winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce has outlined his coaching ambitions and claimed that he would love to return to Ashton Gate if the opportunity arose in the future, speaking exclusively to Football League World.
Campbell-Ryce spent two and a half seasons in Bs3 as a player, totalling 65 appearances before moving on to Notts County, and returned to the club briefly to shadow former teammate Lee Johnson earlier this year.
The 37-year-old holds coaching ambitions of his own and has started that transition, taking a player/coach role with the Colchester United U23s last term.
He is now a coach at Stevenage, overseeing the U9s, U10s, U11s, and U12s, and assisting the manager of the U18s.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s decent,” Campbell-Ryce explained in an exclusive interview with Football League World. “I enjoy the everyday life of being out on the grass and giving back to the ones that want to be footballers – whether that be the kids, the U18s, or even later on in my career I’d like to go back into senior football.
“I’ve got a lot to give back, especially with the number of games that I’ve played in and the longevity that I’ve had.”
The former winger looks back very fondly on the time he spent at City and revealed that he would love to return to the Championship club if the opportunity arose.
He said: “Absolutely (I’d love to return in the future). I love the place. If the opportunity ever arose then I would snap anybody’s hand off for it.
“We all know what football’s like, you’ve got to wait for those doors to open and just see what happens.”
On his time with the Robins, Campbell-Ryce added: “I absolutely loved it, fantastic club. It’s almost like a family club, everybody looks after everyone there. They’re really loyal down there and it’s fantastic to see. I was well looked after and it's a beautiful city. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing and living there.
“I was there two and a half or three years and from the moment I went down there I sort of fell in love with the city and the club. I’d probably say I was just a little bit disappointed that I couldn’t stay there a little longer but that’s football.”