The Derry Boys is a coming-of-age story about a UK teenager that Shaun Derry is fighting to keep contained to just one household.The former Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers captain is the proud father of son Jesse, who is starring on loan at Sporting Lisbon.Jesse Derry is making a name for himself at Sporting in PortugalGettyThe 19-year-old has endured a whirlwind past few months since making his Premier League debut for Chelsea at the start of May.The teenager, who only arrived at the Blues academy last year, was handed his senior debut in a 4-0 FA Cup victory over Hull in February.The ex-Palace youth star signed a six-year contract extension with Chelsea in July before joining Sporting Lisbon on a season-long loan.His dad Shaun knows all about the trials and tribulations of making a name for yourself in the professional game.But, in the modern age, his youngster is faced with more distractions and noise than the generation before him, and it’s an issue Derry Sr. has been trying to navigate.He explained to Kick Off hosts Hugh Woozencroft and Perry Groves on talkSPORT: “It’s obviously difficult, isn’t it?“You’ve got all these trappings that the game brings so early in your career as well. But you must never forget about the game and what you do it for. “And I can only speak on behalf of us as a family, and in particular for Jesse – I do want to mention about the topic of as a wonderkid.“For us, he’s just our kid. He’s our boy. And we love him dearly.“It doesn’t matter where he gets to in his football career. And it’s just that humility that I want him to understand throughout his young career, and throughout his senior career.Derry made three appearances for the Blues last season, but his Premier League debut was cut short by a head injuryGetty“Let’s hope he gets to that stage,” The 48-year-old continued. “And he has a brilliant time being a footballer. “But just for us as a family, it’s just keeping it consistent with him, and just treating him as our boy and still teaching him life lessons.“He’s gone on a journey. He’s had an incredible two or three years. He’s moved from Crystal Palace to Chelsea.“Now he’s on his first loan at a remarkably big football club, and he lives away from us now. “He’s not coming home every night. We’re not cooking him tea. We’re not doing him dinner.“And we’re not making sure that he’s getting in bed at the right time. But we’ve got to try and do that from afar, which is a different challenge.”Derry has inherited Ronaldo’s first shirt number in professional footballGettyRonaldo donned the number at his boyhood club before switching to the No.7 at Manchester UnitedGettyJesse Derry at Sporting LisbonThe England Under-20 international is wearing the same number Cristiano Ronaldo wore during his time at the Portuguese giants.He underlined his talent with a goal in the pre-season friendly win over Monaco at the Estadio do Dragao.Derry has since featured in three of Sporting’s four games in August, all off the bench, and his dad couldn’t be prouder of his progress.“Of course I am,” He added. “We all are. I’m really proud of the decision that he made and that the club Chelsea made as well.“I completely respect the pyramid of English football; it’s so difficult. It’s difficult playing in League Two, never mind in the Premier League.Derry has played for England’s youth teams from U17 level up until the U20sGetty“This is a hard game that we play, so you don’t take anything for granted, of course. But we spoke long and hard about what this challenge would look like. And he really bought into it. “And he wanted to take himself out of this, and I won’t call it a comfort zone, because a lot of being involved in football is being uncomfortable.“Whether you’re uncomfortable playing in the youth team, whether you’re striving to be in the second team, especially when you’re on that top table when you’re in the first team.“There’s moments where you really feel uncomfortable. So to go and experience this 6-12 months over in Portugal, listen, he needs guidance, and he needs perseverance.“And he needs to get his head down and work extremely hard to try and break into that team.”Derry has been challenged by his dad to break into Sporting’s first-team after three sub appearancesAFPKey lessons as dad of a wonderkidDerry, who was was named Palace’s Under-18s player of the season in 2023/24, was wanted by a host of European giants before joining Chelsea.On paper, it would seem as a second-generation star in his family that he would have had the ideal blueprint to follow in his dad’s footsteps.Yet Shaun Derry insisted one of the key things he’s learnt through his son’s academy journey was to avoid becoming an extra coach.“I think the one thing that really stuck out for me is watching Jesse from the age of 6-7 in the Crystal Palace Academy all the way through is; just watch him and enjoy it.“There’s enough coaches on the sideline to give him that advice and all the information that these kids require. “You don’t need a dad or a mum or a family member shouting on the sideline and screaming sometimes.Shaun Derry – pictured with Ole Gunnar Solskjær – has highlighted how important it is as a parent to enjoy the journey of their childrenGetty“I’ve seen everything these last 8-9 years. And don’t miss those moments of looking back and watching your son and your daughter; if your daughter’s playing as well, just watch them and actually enjoy watching your kids play football.“Don’t coach them – Don’t coach them on the sideline; they get enough information.“These boys and girls, they go into the academies 4-5 times a week. They’re missing valuable school time. You’re going to miss it.“It flies by so quickly. I remember Jesse’s first game as a 6-7 year old playing for the Under-8s at Crystal Palace. I remember it like yesterday, and I’m so pleased that I did say nothing on the sideline, and I just watched, because when he comes out and he gets in that car, and we talk about different things, you’re a dad.“And hopefully at 45-50 years old when Jesse’s there, and I’m hopefully still around, I’m still going to be his dad first and foremost.“I don’t ever want to think that he would look at me as if I’m the coach.“I’m the guy who’s putting him under added pressure because there’s enough pressure in this game.”‘Don’t lose that individuality’“100 per cent [you have to enjoy it],” he added. “Even now, as a 19-year-old and because I’m not there every day and I don’t live in Portugal, unfortunately I can’t see him and share this experience with him the way that I would like.“But even when he’s getting ready for his games at the weekend, my last text with him will be: enjoy the moment, enjoy the game, enjoy the occasion.“And I always leave it like this because he’s a different type of player to what I was. He’s obviously a winger, and he’s got this individual flair and ability that is exciting to watch.”“But I’ll say to him, ‘What would you like to watch?’ If he was watching yourself, what would you like to watch? And I say, you’d like to watch yourself being that individual flair player.“I’m not saying you shouldn’t conform to what your manager wants; of course you should. You should always try and do what the manager wants.“But for him, don’t lose that individuality that he’s got and he’s had since he was five years old; try and take that onto the pitch when he’s playing.”