Savage is preparing to manage a finalist of the BT Sport Pub Cup for a second successive year, and is starting to be tempted by the prospect of becoming a boss for real.
The 44-year-old has worked as a pundit since retiring in 2011, and has seen BT Sport colleagues like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes all have a crack at management.
The Welshman admits he could be interested in following in their footsteps.
“The older I get, and the more experience I’ve picked up as a pundit, listening to the experience of ex-managers, I probably will apply for a job eventually,” Savage tells FourFourTwo.
“I manage an under-13s side now and it’s something I’ve had a taste of. If you can manage a grassroots side with parents, managing at that level when you’ve got parents on to you all the time, I’m not saying it’s going to be easier, but I’m a people person.”
Gerrard’s first senior job came at Rangers, while Lampard has begun at Championship club Derby County, although Savage is realistic that he can’t expect to start that high in the football pyramid.
Asked at what level he would want to begin his management career, he says: “Any level. Listen, I'm not a Frank Lampard or a Steven Gerrard where I can walk into it – I don't mean walk into it, because Steven was at Liverpool under-18s.
“But when you see legends like Scholesy and Sol Campbell starting at Oldham and Macclesfield – I know Scholesy's left now – I don't think any manager has a given right to walk into a fantastic job. I'm prepared to start at any level.”
Savage was speaking at the launch of this year’s BT Sport Pub Cup at The Gun pub in Hackney. The London pub were managed by Savage when they won last season’s competition at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium. This year's final will take place at Newcastle's St James' Park.
“I managed The Gun for the final, and I just had a bond with the lads,” he explains. “They were down to 10 men, up against it at 1-0 down, but they showed great fight to win on penalties.
“What you can’t do is take over because all the lads know each other and they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I just took a backwards step last year and tactically tried to alter a few things, but they did it mostly on their own because they know each other.
“I’ll be managing a team in the final again this year, I think we’ve had nearly 800 entries this season and it’s great to be part of it.”
To enter your team into the BT Sport Pub Cup, go to www.btsportbusiness.com/pubcup. Entries close on Sunday, March 31.
