THE former head of medicine at Everton FC and son of Manchester City star Willie Donachie has launched a life coaching company.

Sale resident Danny Donachie, who has worked closely with a raft of household names, including David Moyes, a young Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne, has switched career paths with new business Embodyism.

The 42-year-old, whose Scottish defender father played in the 1978 World Cup and did a stint as a Newcastle United coach, is using multiple skills picked up over the past two decades to boost people’s wellbeing and performance.

“The underlying message behind what I do is about presence, being fully in the moment and harnessing the full capacity of each life,” said Danny, whose own professional football career was cut short following two ankle breaks.

“Your body picks up so much information that we miss, because we are in our heads, and tapping into this resource creates a fundamental shift in behaviour.

“The idea for Embodyism came to me towards the end of my time at Everton and it is working out well so far, due to the good variety of clients I have.”

Danny has a string of qualifications to his name, including a physiotherapy degree from Manchester University and a graduate certificate in organisational change and coaching. He is also trained as a yoga teacher in India.

Danny spent 15 years with Premier League side Everton and developed a close relationship with David Moyes, who left Merseyside in 2013 to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.

The father-of-three - whose clients include Tim Howard, England defenders Leighton Baines and John Stones and tennis star Ana Ivanovic – said his focus is also now on helping people in business and connecting the mind and body.

“My dad used to meditate twice a day in the 1970s, which was quite unusual,” said Danny. “He did it from a young age as a way of dealing with his background. His dad was an alcoholic and he grew up in Glasgow in a one bed apartment with his brothers and sisters after his mum had died when he was only 12.

“His experiences and way of dealing with the world had a big impact on me.”

Danny added: “Getting to a place of contentment and calmness within a high performing life isn’t easy but it is completely possible. This is the aim of my work. To help people achieve great feats from this place of calm contentment.”