JOEY JONES likes a challenge - and they don't come much bigger than filling the shoes of the man who discovered Ian Rush and Michael Owen.

But, as the Wrexham stalwart says, you never know when the next Wayne Rooney is around the corner.

Jones keeps a lower profile these days, having moved from his role with the first team to oversee youth development at the club.

But if you thought he was taking it easy after a heart scare last season that changed his perspective on life, you're wrong.

Surely the king of dressing-room banter is missing life at the sharp end, though?

"Actually no," says the former Liverpool defender.

"I wasn't sure how I would adjust to this role at first but I'm really enjoying it.

"Cliff Sear did a brilliant job in this area before he passed away. He was the one who unearthed Rush and Owen.

"Without him things fell away for a while. But now a key part of my job is to maintain good contacts with the local leagues.

"Players like Wayne Rooney come around very rarely - but you never know when it's going to happen."

And it would be just Jones's luck to stumble across the next young diamond of the British game.

Not that he's desperate. "I won't name names but there are one or two in the under-16s who we have very high hopes for," he revealed.

"Now the challenge is to make sure they progress properly.

"They need a level of ability, of course, but you have to test them as individuals.

"For instance, there are some who go into their shells when you criticise them and you can see in their faces that they are wilting. Others are the opposite."

But the flip side is the fierce competition for the best talent caused by Wrexham's geographical position.

With Liverpool and Everton just up the road and Manchester not too far away, Jones has his work cut out even though rules do exist to prevent the big guns poaching from other areas.

And half the battle, he insists, is changing the attitudes of parents who often have delusions of grandeur.

"My experience has been that quite often parents just want to be able to say their little Johnny is training with Manchester United or Liverpool," said Jones.

"The truth of the matter is, though, that they have next to no chance of ever making it at those clubs, who rely on big foreign signings.

"The better path for most of them would be to throw their lot in with a club like Wrexham and then make the move to bigger things later if they are good enough."

Working as he does with 16 and 17-year-olds, Jones is perfectly placed to judge the Rooney phenomenon.

And it is a phenomenon, so he says. "The biggest thing is his physique, he is like a fully-developed man," he said.

"Then there is his approach, where nothing seems to bother him.

"I am told he is a lot like Duncan Edwards was when he broke through into Matt Busby's Man United side - beyond his years in terms of so many different things.

"Anyone in my position would love to discover someone like him."

Jones may never manage it - but he'll have fun trying.

Joey Jones

I wasn't sure how I would adjust to this role at first but I'm really enjoying it.