Sean O’Driscoll was confirmed as Liverpool’s assistant manager on Monday having finalised his departure from the Football Association. The 58-year-old spent the past nine months as the head coach of England’s Under-19 team and replaces Colin Pascoe, sacked last month following FSG’s review into last season’s domestic and European disappointments. He and Rodgers are joined by the highly regarded Pepijn Lijnders, promoted from Liverpool under-16s to the newly created position of first team development coach. A new first-team coach, possibly one with connections to the club, is also being sought to replace Mike Marsh, who was released on the expiry of his contract last month.
The appointment of O’Driscoll and elevation of Lijnders banishes one of many uncertainties that surrounds Liverpool. Rather than being left isolated or undermined by the departures of Pascoe and Marsh, two close allies he described as “absolutely critical” to 2014’s title challenge, Rodgers received the full support of his employer to instigate the restructuring. He could not have accepted anything less before a critical season in his Liverpool reign.
O’Driscoll, the former Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City manager, has attended several of Rodgers’ coaching sessions at Melwood in recent seasons. He was the first manager Rodgers faced at Vicarage Road after he left Chelsea’s coaching team to take charge of Watford in November 2008. The two have remained in regular contact since that 1-1 draw with O’Driscoll’s admired Doncaster team.
“I have made these appointments because I want to take us in a new technical direction, in terms of coaching,” Rodgers said. “I believe the entire first-team set-up will benefit and I am extremely positive and excited about what we can achieve, as a group, going forward.”
He described O’Driscoll as “one of the best coaches I have ever come across” in a wide-ranging critique of English coaching methods in October 2013. On Monday he added: “My admiration for Sean, as a professional, is well documented. He is someone with a clear vision and philosophy and has proved he has the ability to transfer that knowledge, through his coaching, to the players. I am looking forward to working with him and also learning from his experiences and gaining valuable knowledge from his expertise.”
O’Driscoll’s emergence as the favoured candidate raised many an eyebrow given his lack of experience at Premier League level, something Pascoe and Marsh possessed in abundance by comparison, plus the rival names linked with the post. There was a clamour for change at the top following the dismal end to last season and while it has arrived in personnel, the coaching philosophy in place appears more unified than ever.
The 32-year-old Lijnders arrived at Liverpool’s academy only last year but made a major impression on players and fellow coaches. The Dutchman was in his early 20s when lured from PSV Eindhoven by Porto, where he progressed from coaching the club’s under-sixes to the first team. The career path of a coach who excels at one-to-one tuition is following a similar upward trajectory on Merseyside. With Rodgers and O’Driscoll he shares a common belief in a high-pressing, fluid attacking game, in the constant development of an individual’s technique and faith in young talent.
“I couldn’t think of a better attacking manager to assist,” said Lijnders on his promotion. “Everybody knows how I feel about representing this amazing club. The owners have a clear and strong philosophy which is based on developing top young players into elite – I want to thank them for giving me this opportunity.”
Gareth Roberts, the former Wales international, played for O’Driscoll at Doncaster and is intrigued by his former manager’s switch from the FA. He said: “It will be fascinating to see how he works with top-flight players in the Premier League, both in terms of improving the Liverpool lads and in finding the weaknesses of the opposition.
“He’s a No2 this time and has always been a manager in the past but he andBrendan Rodgers seem to share a similar philosophy about the way the game should be played.”
The former Anfield favourite Sami Hyypia was keen to replace Pascoe while Rafael Benítez’s former assistant Pako Ayestarán was also linked. Both were overlooked for the assistant manager’s post but Rodgers hopes to appoint a former Liverpool old boy as first-team coach. According to Roberts, they will work alongside a meticulous operator in O’Driscoll.
“He was the best manager I played for, and I played under quite a few,” said the 37-year-old former Liverpool trainee, who made over 150 appearances for Doncaster during O’Driscoll’s tenure and also played for Tranmere Rovers, Derby County, Bury, Notts County and Chester before joining Stockport County this summer.
“There is no doubt he made me a better player. He’s different class on the training ground. He makes you think at every stage of a training session. Everything he does is designed to make you think, to improve you as a player and to improve you as a person. The sessions are always plotted through the week with a focus on the match at the weekend. He tailors what you do to focus on the weak points of the opposition on a Saturday.
“He is very good at seeing things from the side of the pitch, tweaking players or tweaking the way players are doing things. He’s very good at changing or adjusting tactical systems. It’s something he practices with the players on the training ground. Players respond to him. He is very quietly spoken and when he raises his voice you listen. He’s very calm. He wants to get his point over. If someone is not getting what he is after, he will work with them until they see it.”
Roberts added that “everything has to be done for a reason” with O’Driscoll, a coach he claims “is always doing things to make you think”.
The former Wales left-back explained: “He would split the group of players into two teams and call one person from each side over to tell the rules of the game about to be played. Then he would tell them they have 30 seconds to tell the rest of the team the rules before the match started. It was all about developing communication skills among the players, making them better at passing information on to each other on the pitch. He’s a top guy and he deserves this chance.”
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