To say things have gone well would be an understatement with Mitchell handing in his notice at work eight weeks after opening the doors to the country’s next generation of shot-stoppers.

Mitchell’s schedule has been packed with one-to-one and small group sessions as he passes on expert advice – both technical and mental.

The 30-year-old has worked with the likes of Larne’s Phoenix Blayney, who is set to join Premier League champions Arsenal next summer, and while the move felt like a leap of faith at the time, it’s one Mitchell is glad he took.

"It's grown well beyond my wildest dreams in the timeline,” Mitchell told the News Letter. “It has been a whirlwind, it's probably only the last couple of months I have caught my breath a little bit.

"There was trepidation early on, especially the first couple of weeks, I was going to my wife ‘nobody's messaging, have I done the right thing here?’.

"Then I had Phoenix in for a session, and with his profile of going to Arsenal and being an international goalkeeper, that was the real kickstart of people seeing it.

"I'd done a little bit of coaching in the academy when I was over at Burnley, a little bit for Rangers’ academy, and I always knew looking beyond my playing days that I'd like to coach.”

Mitchell spent seven years on the books of Burnley, coming through the ranks as the Turf Moor outfit sealed promotion to the Premier League.

He returned to Northern Ireland on a permanent basis with Larne in 2019 before further spells at Warrenpoint Town, Dungannon Swifts, Newry City, H&W Welders and Rathfriland Rangers before signing for Rosario last summer.

The last few years had took their toll on Mitchell, who lost the love for a sport he had dedicated his life to, with thoughts drifting towards hanging up his gloves entirely, despite having only turned 30.

A chat with Rosario boss Chris Morgan resulted in Mitchell pausing retirement plans and has helped him find the feeling he was searching for in recent times.

"The last few years have just been really tough,” added Mitchell. “Probably just wrong moves at wrong times, wrong environments.

"At the end of the season, I found myself almost feeling anxiety and in a bad mood the days of training and games because I just didn't want to be there.

"I just completely lost myself and had a little bit of a moment of going like, ‘what has gone wrong the last few years?’.

"Self-worth-wise that was tough...I was definitely going to step away from playing for at least a year and just launch into the business, that was the plan until I spoke to Chris.

"Being at Rosario has brought that love back, it's the most I've enjoyed football since my time at Warrenpoint...I really loved those two years.

"I’ve been trying to find that feeling ever since, and just haven't, I'd bounced from club to club and never really felt part of something, whereas I get that feeling again at Rosario.

"The coaching has helped, I'm at the club on a daily basis, so I'm seeing faces and I've been able to integrate quite quickly into it, it's almost like that feeling of being part of a community again.”

Having earned a dream move to England and played for some of the Irish League’s biggest teams – Mitchell spent time on loan at Linfield in 2019 – he has lived a professional life which many of the young goalkeepers he’s currently working with are aspiring towards.

With goalkeeper a position unlike any other, Mitchell is determined to help prepare the next generation for what’s ahead.

"That's a huge part of what I want to do,” said Mitchell. “It's not just me turning up and kicking balls at them for an hour, it's giving them even the empathy...as a goalkeeper, sometimes you think that the thoughts you have, you're the only one who's ever felt that.

"When I've spoke to some of the young goalkeepers I've had and say ‘I've lived that’, their face lights up.

"I've lived a lot of the experiences they will live, and by no means am I an expert, but I can give my perspective of how I did deal with it or didn't deal with it well, and then they can have a little bit of preparation for it.

"It's something I'm very passionate about, I don't want goalkeepers being held back mentally and not maximising their potential in terms of their technical game.”

In current Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton, Mitchell had the perfect role model as he developed at Burnley – and is now passing on lessons learned in his new role.

“When I was there, he was the ideal role model in how he approached his work, his daily habits, his mindset, he was so consistent,” said Mitchell. “As a young goalkeeper, I was really lucky to work with Heaton, (Nick) Pope, Joe Hart, Paul Robinson, Anders Lindegaard.

"You're talking about guys who played at the top, top level, and you probably don't realise at the time, but now when I'm giving little nuggets to younger goalkeepers, you go ‘these are things I picked up from them’.

"I'm really lucky to have acquired that knowledge and understanding of the position through working with people like that.”