Doncaster Rovers' Richard Wood eyes coaching next - but he hopes to be too busy playing next season

The 38-year-old centre-back is looking to go into coaching having had a taste of it at previous club Rotherham United – but not before he has squeezed a few more drops out of his playing career.

Wood stepped down from the Championship to League Two this summer because he wanted regular football after being released by the Millers after nine seasons. Had a club who have been revitalised by the return of Grant McCann not come in for him, the Wakefield-born player said he would have been prepared to drop into non-league football if needs be.

To some, a player-coach role might have been a logical next step for Wood, who had a match in caretaker control of Rotherham last season after the departure of Paul Warne to Derby County, but he is determined to make the most of his playing career with plenty of time to go into coaching afterwards.

McCann has brought coaches Cliffe Byrne and Lee Glover in with him, as well as goalkeeping specialist Kyle Letheren, and whilst there may be the potential for the odd session coaching younger players, it is not a priority for Wood.

"I want to do that (coaching) but I don't want to push it too much because I want to concentrate on playing," he explained.

"I will be doing bits in the background, finishing my licences. That will just be in the background, I won't be pushing to get involved in the coaching set-up here because I want to be playing every week. I might help out in the academy or do bits like that every now and again."

Wood has made just six league starts since Christmas, although four came in Rotherham's final five matches of a campaign which saw them secure Championship safety.

Despite that, he has no concerns about his ability to be a regular in League Two, where clubs play 46 league games plus cup matches, with regular spells of Saturday-Tuesday football.

"I am confident I could do that but I've no doubt my levels would probably drop on the Saturday of a third (consecutive) game," said Wood, whose experience would then come into play. "If I can manage myself, I'm more than willing to do it."

Whether he will get the chance is another question, with McCann determined to create competition for places within his squad. Although it threatens the game-time which becomes ever more precious at Wood's age, he welcomes that.

Doncaster’s transfer business, bringing in eight signings to date, does not suggest he will get an easy ride in South Yorkshire.

"That's what makes a winning team, it's the whole squad which is part of driving people and pushing people," he said. "I love competition for places and that's how it should be – if you're in the team it keeps you on your toes, if you're out of the team you're striving to get in so every single person has to train well. It definitely drives standards and makes training really good."

Although Wood knows McCann from playing against him and his teams, working under him will be a new experience and another person to learn from.

"I asked questions (of Rotherham's coaches) last season and I'll definitely be doing it this season and making notes I'll definitely be using in future," said Wood. "It's good to see how different people work.

"I wish I'd made more notes earlier in my career but I suppose you only think like that when it's coming to the end.

"It's something I want to go into but I don't know if I'll be any good yet, I don't know how I'll feel so it's all to come This is just preparation for it.

"But I'm hoping I play every week so I don't have time for that.

"I've had a lot of managers and you take the good bits from everybody because everybody's got their flaws – I've definitely got lots of flaws in my game and probably as a person but you have to just take little snippets of good things you see in training every day or what the manager says to someone.

"When I think, 'Oh that's good, how he's done that,' I make a note of that and I'll see what I've got in my journal at the end of season."

Wood took charge of one game alongside Lee Peltier last season and although it ended in a 2-0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic, it has given him the taste for more.

"I did really enjoy that week, I loved doing it," he said.

"That's just probably whetted my appetite for doing the coaching and management side. It was difficult because it was thrown on me, that week was chaos.

"But the actual coaching, talking to players, putting meetings on, doing the analysis, I enjoyed doing it.

"It's something I'd never have imagined myself doing 10, 15 years ago but definitely now I've got more confidence speaking in front of groups, I'm, not afraid of doing it or speaking to individual players, telling them they're not playing. I know it's not nice but it's a job that's got to be done.

"The result didn't go my way but I loved the week and the build-up to it."

Even so, that chapter is not about to start just yet.