Reims boss Still can't believe he's facing Messi and Mbappe and dreams of future Prem job

Belgium-born Still was appointed manager of the Ligue 1 side in October with the club looking like relegation candidates, and he's since led them to a 13-game unbeaten streak.

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That included a draw against European giants PSG on January 29, with Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogan scoring a dramatic equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Still is in only his second full-time coaching job after previously taking charge of Beerschot in Antwerp, and is still coming to terms with such an ascent.

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"It's difficult to put into words. Ridiculous I think," he said on Drivetime.

"If you told me about five or six years ago I'd be standing there telling my defenders how to defend against [Kylian] Mbappe, [Lionel] Messi and Neymar I think I'd have probably said punch me in the face because it sounds completely stupid.

"But once you get involved in the game and you see the stadium and the warm-up starts you kind of forget about it, I know that sounds stupid but it's true. But the little boy inside me was standing there with stars in their eyes."

So impressed with Still are Reims, that they're happy to pay a €25,000 [£22,000] fine every time he coaches the team.

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That's due to a lack of qualifications, with Still currently studying for his UEFA Pro Licence, but as he explains, it's not for the want of trying.

He said: "People say 'Why's he not done it before? Why's he not done this or that?' Well I'm only 30 and I couldn't have actually got on the course any earlier.

"Normally it's reserved for ex-pros or ex-coaches so I've only just got on it because that's the normal path I have to follow.

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"I've only just started it to be honest, the club have asked for a derogation to avoid the fines and say 'this is stupid', but at the moment every game I'm in charge the club gets a fine, I think it's €25,000."

Born in Belgium to English parents, Still, a West Ham fan, admits England feels like home, and he would one day love a Premier League job.

When asked about his Premier League aspirations, he said: "Of course I do. But I'm only 30 and I think I've got enough time ahead of me.

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"Coming home would be one of my goals in years to come."

His early emergence saw him linked to the Football Manager computer game series, but suggestions he went straight from that to coaching are incredibly far-fetched.

"I was a fan of football since my early days, it just had to be about football," he began.

"I went to college in England, I was born in Belgium and lived in Belgium all my life but went to college in England and studied a degree in football coaching and that's where I got the buzz for it.

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"Football Manager was obviously a part of my daily routine but I started off coaching at Preston North End which was part of our college degree, and the rest is history.

"I had an interview with the Coach's Voice and Football Manager and I just basically said obviously I spent hours playing it as everyone has, you spend hours smashing the space bar until about three o'clock in the morning, but that's just part of the kid I was and the generation I've come from."

His generation has seen some of football's greatest coaches, with names such as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola revolutionising the game.

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But there was one just before that who still leaves him in awe.

Speaking about his role models, he said: "All the current generation, Eddie Howe, [Jurgen] Klopp, Pep, Mourinho a few years ago.

"But I think the one that has hit me the most over the last few years was Sir Alex, how good he was at Manchester United.

"He was always able to renew himself and renew cycles of players and teams and I think to stay the length of time he did it was pretty stupid, so I look up to him because I want to know how he stayed so up to date with everything."

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