Blackpool teacher's winning start as England manager

Ben Lavelle (seated third left) with his England squad

Lavelle, who serves as director of expressive arts at Blackpool Aspire Academy, has begun his two-year tenure as national team manager.

Ben, who holds a UEFA A coaching licence, leads a management team which includes an assistant manager, conditioning coaches, performance coach and goalkeeping coach.

The team beat Australia Schoolboys 5-2 last weekend and Lavelle was delighted to see them recover from 2-1 down to win. It completed a three-week tour for the Australian team, who drew with Northern Ireland and Scotland, and also lost to Wales.

Manager Lavelle will lead a four-day training camp at the end of February before England’s defence of the Centenary Shield.

The national side will face Scotland at St Mirren (March 3), Northern Ireland at Torquay (March 25), Republic of Ireland at Shamrock Rovers in Dublin (April 13) and Wales at Bristol Rovers (April 21).

Ben also presided over the selection process, which saw 32 players whittled down to a final squad of 16.

The trials process involved rigorous training and a presentation to show the players the expectations for the international season.

There were two trial games against the English RAF ( lost 3-1 ) and the Royal Navy (won 2-0 ), and all the players had to complete interviews and psychological questionnaires.

The final part of the trial was a game involving all 32 players, from which half of them made the cut.