Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has made another summer signing, bringing Sean O'Driscoll in as his new assistant manager following the departure of Colin Pascoe in the wake of a disappointing season for the Anfield club.
O'Driscoll, 57, spent last season coaching the England Under-19s side, but has a good club pedigree having managed Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.
Rodgers is known to be a fan of O'Driscoll's methods and described him as "one of the best coaches I have ever come across" in October last year. "His teams were expressive, had movement, they were technical, but he will probably never get a chance at a higher level," lamented the Liverpool manager, who has now given him the chance to do just that.
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O'Driscoll's appointment "has not been finalised but is set to go through before Liverpool embark on a pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East on 12 July", reports The Guardian. "The Liverpool manager has been without a No2 since Pascoe... paid the price for last season's disappointments following a review conducted by the club's owner, Fenway Sports Group. It initially appeared Rodgers had been left isolated... but the Northern Irishman is a firm admirer of O'Driscoll and has been instrumental in the approach."
O'Driscoll spent much of his playing career at lowly Bournemouth in the days before their ascent to the Premier League. He was manager there for six years before moving to Doncaster in 2006. At the Keepmoat Stadium he fashioned a team known as the 'Arsenal of the north', which won promotion to the Championship, notes the Daily Mail.
"Although Doncaster were not the most glamorous club in the division, O'Driscoll's template as a pass-and-move manager left an impression on Rodgers, who got Swansea into the Premier League with similar technical football, which got him the job at Liverpool," adds the paper.
The pair could "dovetail nicely" at Liverpool. "O'Driscoll is happiest on the training pitch but uncomfortable with the public duties you need to perform as a manager," explains the Mail. While Rodgers is "far more comfortable in the limelight".
His appointment is "highly significant", says the Liverpool Echo. There had been calls for former Liverpool players like Sami Hyypia to take the role or for an established figure like former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen to get the nod.
But O'Driscoll is obviously the choice of Rodgers, which means that Liverpool's American owners "have effectively allowed the Liverpool manager to handpick Pascoe's successor. It's a huge show of support."
