Harvey, who took out the NPL grand final in Queensland last year with Western Pride, joined Hong Kong Premier League club Eastern FC as assistant coach in June.
Harvey’s goal is to one day coach in the A-League but the 34-year-old knows how difficult it is to get a chance in Australia’s elite division.
“It’s no secret the A-League’s a very tough industry to get into,” Harvey told The World Game.
“In Australia there’s so few opportunities and I don’t have the elite player background in Australia that many of the coaches do.
"So I just thought after the success of the grand final, to be honest I wasn’t getting any phone calls in Australia about job opportunities, so I thought heading overseas was my best opportunity for more professional football experience as a coach.
“I had it in the UK working with professional clubs, but it’s very tough and limited in Australia. I wanted to carry on my learning and development as a coach.
“Hong Kong’s been great for that. The style of football is very different to Australia, and certainly when we were in Korea in pre-season it was great for me to sit back and observe. It’s allowed me to understand the game a lot better.
“Australia is very set with 4-3-3 and playing out from the back and playing through the lines, which is high-tempo and possession-based football. Over here it’s a little bit different, which is good for my development as a coach.
“I’ll see the benefit in a few years hopefully.”
Originally from the UK, Harvey relocated to Australia permanently 11 years ago where he played for Lions FC and Whitsunday Miners FC.
He stopped playing at the age of 26 because of injury and took up coaching, starting off in Mackay before spending a year as an assistant with the Brisbane Strikers.
After heading back to England for 18 months to complete his Masters, where he was in charge of Rotherham United’s Under-13s and the Loughborough University men’s team, he joined the Western Pride. In his third season with the Ipswich club they defeated Moreton Bay United 2-1 in the grand final.
“Pride was a really good time for myself,” Harvey explained.
“We had a really young, talented group of players and many of the players had been released by A-League National Youth League contracts or were trying to get into the National Youth League. Or even just trying to get into the A-League.
“So I had a very motivated young group. The oldest player when we won the grand final was 24. They were very focused on their football.
“They allowed me to implement my ideas on how I wanted the game played and the boys carried it out very well. We had an incredible run to the final, 13 wins in a row, including the grand final.”
Harvey also spent three years working for Football Queensland as a coach developer, where he was charged with delivering AFC C and B coaching licenses. He believes part of the problem is that with only nine Australian A-League clubs, and no second division, there is no pathway for coaches to follow once they receive their qualifications.
“You’re starting to see some really good operators going into the NPL,” he said.
“You’re starting to see A-league coaches go down into the NPL because that’s the only route for them. But it’s tough because the NPL, generally speaking, is part-time players and full-time coaches.
“It’s a tough world as a coach to invest all your time and your money into doing your licenses, as per requirements, and at the end of it there’s nine jobs that are available. You need to take that huge step and go overseas, which is very tough for people whether they’ve got work or family commitments.
“It’s a big call. There’s a bit of a bubble in Australia. Hopefully there’s a pathway – whether it’s a second division or whether FFA ever decided to expand, I think it’s probably needed.
“Australia’s such a fantastic country to live. Also for people coming from the UK, I think Australia sometimes surprises, even with football.
“It surprises people from the UK how well set-up and structured it is. For example, with my coach education work for Football Queensland and FFA, when I go back to the UK and compared and contrast the coach education there, people are genuinely shocked how well-run it is.
“How well set up it is. They’re shocked. I don’t know whether it’s arrogance, but they think what they’re delivering is the best.”
Eastern are sitting top of the Hong Kong Premier League after five rounds, undefeated with four wins and one draw. Harvey, who is on a one-year contract with the club, is enjoying his time in the Asian competition.
“We’ve had a good start to the season,” he said.
“We don’t have a league game until the start of December because of the international break. It’s a challenging time at the moment to keep everyone focused and motivated. We’re travelling OK but still lots to work on.
“But the club has surpassed my expectations how professional it is and how well it’s looked after me personally. I’ve had nothing to worry about. The club’s been absolutely unbelievable.”
