IT is not every day you end up in the same coffee queue as England manager Gareth Southgate.

But that is exactly what happened to Clydebank FC kitman Ross Donaldson during a recent conference at St George's Park in Staffordshire.

The 42-year-old attended the inaugural Kit Shed event this month which brought together backroom staff from across football to discuss how the role of kit person can be developed.

Clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic were represented at the conference.

And Ross opened up on his experience. 

He said: "I found out about the event via LinkedIn. 

"I registered for it and was lucky enough to get a place. There were different speakers there from a range of different levels.

"The main speaker was the England National team kit manager Pat Frost and he was very impressive.

"The level of detail he was able to provide shows just how much effort is put in at the elite level."

Ross has been the West of Scotland League side's kitman for the last two seasons.

He has previously worked at clubs such as Albion Rovers and Falkirk, and is helped in the role by his wife Jennifer.

And he explained how he hopes his time at the conference will help take things to the next level at Clydebank.

"It was very much a learning experience for me and working out how I can become better at what I do," he continued. 

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"It was about asking questions on topics such as how to set up the dressing room on a matchday, what they do if something goes wrong and being able to learn from their experiences.

"It was great to have discussions with people who work at the top level about how they got into the role and taking any learning opportunities from them that were on offer."

Some of the biggest names in football were present at St George's Park last week during the conference as the facility is a base for the England national team.

And Ross feels like being surrounded by such prominent figures will only help him improve.

"I was standing in the queue for a coffee in the morning and Gareth Southgate was behind me," he added. 

"The Lionesses’ head coach, Sarina Wiegman, was also there.

"It was amazing to be in that environment and around those sorts of people."