Liverpool have officially confirmed the appointment of Sean O’Driscoll as our new assistant manager via lfc.com.
Rumours have been rife for weeks that the 58-year-old Irishman would take the role left by the fired Colin Pascoe, and now the club have announced O’Driscoll’s appointment.
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Manager Brendan Rodgers is delighted by his new no.2 as well.
“I have made these appointments because I want to take us in a new technical direction, in terms of coaching,” Rodgers began.
“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.”
“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 himself is similarly delighted to have joined Liverpool – having previously worked with England Under-19s, Bristol City and Nottingham Forest as an actual manager.
“I am excited to be joining one of the world’s most iconic football clubs,” he said.
“The hallmark of any successful club is its culture and that comes from the people who work there, from the chief executive and first-team manager to those people behind the scenes whose faces may not be known but who are the lifeblood of the club.
“From the moment I drove into Melwood last week and was greeted by Kenny the gateman, I could not have been made to feel more welcome. If you are going to have any level of success these people are as crucial as the players; from my experiences so far it is clear everyone wants to help this club succeed.”
Following last season’s dire domestic and European campaign, the club’s hierarchy thought changes needed to be made – and while Rodgers kept his job as a reward for almost leading us to the title in 2013/14, Pascoe and Mike Marsh were asked to leave.
Hopefully O’Driscoll can provide something different on the training ground and give the playing and managerial squad a serious boost.
Alongside O’Driscoll’s appointment, Liverpool announced that Pepijn Lijnders would join the first-team coaching staff. The young Dutchman was poached from FC Porto to join our youth set-up, but Rodgers was so impressed by the former Ajax coach’s one-to-one work with players, he’s decided to give him a chance with the professionals.
We wish both O’Driscoll and Lijnders all the luck in the world.