Ex-Chelsea and Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic: I owe my career to my former Portsmouth coach. He's one of the world's greatest

And Asmir Begovic credits the Fratton Park goalkeeping coach he classes as one of the best in the world for laying the foundations to a highly-successful career.

Dave Coles followed Harry Redknapp from Southampton in December 2007, while the teenage keeper was on loan at Belgium club La Louviere.

Once paired with Begovic, the former Chelsea and Stoke man is convinced the coach inspired him to become the player he is today.

Indeed, Begovic believes Coles, who spent two spells at Fratton Park and is presently at Bristol Rovers, is the finest goalkeeping coach he has ever worked with.

He told The News: ‘I was initially coming in on a student visa, but that only lasted for so long.

‘So I had to be registered in England for a longer period to be given permanent residency and went on loan to Belgium during the wait.

‘La Louviere was a big step, forced a little bit on us because of circumstances, but wasn’t the right move because the club (La Louviere) was a disaster and not vetted properly.

‘While I was out there, Harry returned and brought a new goalkeeping coach with him – Dave Coles.

‘I was meant to be coming back to Pompey monthly, that then turned into every three months. When they saw me, they knew I had to return as much as possible for my progression.

‘For the last third of the season, I was coming back every month and working with the first-team.

‘I developed a great relationship with Dave Coles and he saw me as a big project. He basically made my career.

‘It was important to have somebody I believed in. He built the foundations and building blocks of my career, there’s no ifs and buts about it.

‘If I don’t come into Dave’s hands at that time, then he doesn’t make me into the goalkeeper I am today.

‘He’s done it for so many years. For me he is one of the top goalkeeping coaches in the world, without a doubt. His goalkeeping coaching career speaks for itself, it’s top notch.

‘As a person, as someone who can build you and build a career, I have not seen many better.

‘I would say Dave’s the best coach I have ever worked with.

‘That's saying something because I’ve learnt from loads of coaches. I was also fortunate to have had five-and-a-half years at Stoke with Andy Quy, who is right up there.

‘Picking the right people and picking the right environment is incredibly important. I was in the hands of Dave and then Andy totalling 10-11 years, which is priceless.

‘If I wasn’t in their hands would I have the same career? I don’t know. But they moulded me into the goalkeeper I am – and I’m grateful for that.’

Begovic, who arrived at Fratton Park in the summer of 2003 as a 16-year-old, was also handed loan spells at Macclesfield, Bournemouth, Yeovil and Ipswich.

They allowed the keeper to flourish before establishing himself in Pompey’s first-team in November 2009.

Then he was sold to Stoke for £3.25m in February 2010, having rejected the opportunity to move to Spurs.

He added: ‘You need to get you into men’s football as soon as possible.

‘Dave Coles told me: “I can only do so much with you on the training pitch, you have to go and prove it on a proper first-team level”.

‘I needed to play matches and put everything I had learnt on the training pitch into those games.

‘You want someone to give you a chance to play – and my first loan spell in England was at Macclesfield in November 2006.

‘Paul Ince took a chance on me, then it’s up to you to make the most of it. Thankfully, step-by-step, everything went well from that point.’

MORE: Spurs and that £1m Pompey bill: Asmir Begovic reveals truth behind controversial Fratton Park exit

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