JOHN Turner might refuse to call himself East Lancashire’s ‘Special One’ but his achievements as a coach at St Bede’s School certainly suggest he has a Midas touch.

Newly-crowned Grassroots Awards Coach of the Year Turner has guided his girls’ football team, themselves a finalist in the junior team of the year category, to two national titles in the last three years.

That’s on top of overseeing a range of honours across sports as varied as hockey, rounders and badminton.

But he refuses to take all the adulation.

“I am lucky to have worked with such a great group of girls,” he said. “They are extremely talented and they work hard.”

Indeed, if anything Turner was left feeling like his team should have been leaving with an award and not him.

“I was a little disappointed that the girls from St Bede’s didn’t win,” he added. “I would rather they took the credit for all their hard work rather than me. But it is an honour for me.”

Turner, himself a talented footballer who was on the books of Preston North End as a youngster, takes great pride from watching the success of his pupils, both on and off the field.

He added: “For me it is about seeing them enjoying themselves and picking up skills.

“A lot of the skills can be transferred across sports and not only that but it can help with other important life skills. They learn about teamwork and communication, dealing with winning and dealing with failure..” I played a lot of sport as a child and I want them to have the same opportunities.”

So what sort of coach is he? Does he walk around the school corridors wearing a coat embroidered with the words ‘The Special One?’ “No,” he laughs. “I think they key to being a good coach is being flexible.

“That is certainly the case when you are dealing with a large group of girls because there are so many different personalities there. “ “I think you have to make sure you understand your environment. It helps to have talented people to work with though.”

“You have to know when to shout and when to motivate. Sometimes they need a quiet word and you have to be able to adapt.