Michael Owen has taken the first steps in preparation for a life after playing, the England striker beginning his coaching qualifications at Newcastle United. While Owen has yet to decide whether to pursue a career in management once he hangs up his boots, at almost 29 the days when he could be regarded as the boy wonder of the Barclays Premier League are no more.

Scoring goals for club and country remain Owen's priority, but beyond that there are options to consider. Those supporters dismayed by Newcastle's failure to follow through on contract negotiations with their record signing - with his present deal expiring at the end of the season, he is entitled to talk to other clubs in January - will be heartened by the thought of him utilising his spare time to pass on his experience.

Owen, along with the likes of Shay Given and Steve Harper, has been putting on sessions for Newcastle's 16 and 17-year-old players, staying behind after his own training ends to engage with the younger element. Considering that the forward has amassed 89 caps, scoring 40 goals in the process, has played in World Cups and represented Liverpool and Real Madrid, that process is valuable.

It has long been assumed that Owen, who owns Manor House Stables in Cheshire, would translate his interest in horse racing into a full-time occupation in later life. Yet football is his first passion and as a reflection of that he is on the lower rungs of a learning ladder that is now unavoidable for coaches and managers.

The FA and the League Managers Association are encouraging players to follow Owen's example as early as possible, as the route to qualification is a time-consuming one. Professionals usually begin that journey at coaching level 2, studying for their Uefa B and A badges before ultimately earning their Uefa Pro-Licence, a necessity for those who wish to work in elite European leagues.

As Owen will doubtless discover, management is not a straightforward proposition. Joe Kinnear, the interim manager at St James' Park, has been charged by the FA with improper conduct after making disparaging comments about a referee. Kinnear referred to Martin Atkinson as

“Mickey Mouse” after Newcastle's defeat away to Fulham on November 9. He has until December 12 to respond to the charge.

Kinnear has reassured Shola Ameobi that he will not be cast aside after Owen's return to the side and Mark Viduka's recovery from a long-term injury. Ameobi came close to leaving the club last summer but has returned to the team under Kinnear - scoring three times - until being omitted for the goalless draw away to Chelsea last weekend, in which Owen and Obafemi Martins started.

“It was a difficult decision for me to make because both Shola and Obafemi had been scoring goals for us,” Kinnear said. “But when I took Shola to one side on Saturday morning in a little one-to-one chat and told him he was on the bench, he could not have taken it better. Obviously he was disappointed, but he told me he understood my decision and that he was part of the squad and that it was the team which mattered most.”

Steven Taylor, the defender, who has been suffering from a groin injury, is likely to be on the substitutes' bench away to Middlesbrough tomorrow.