Gary McAllister was officially appointed to Brendan Rodgers’ coaching staff on Brendan Rodgers, completing the new look set-up ahead of the 2015-16 campaign – as BBC Sport confirms.
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What will the new team bring? We discuss all that and more below…
Manager – Brendan Rodgers
Under pressure might not do this man justice right now. The Northern Irishman has endured three trophyless year at Anfield – albeit with near misses in the Premier League (second), FA Cup (semi-final) and Capital One Cup (semi-final) over the last twelve months. He must respond well to the 6-1 game and get his critics off his back.
We all know about the qualities that he’s going to bring to the team, although it will be interesting to see if his usual philosophies change in any way off the back of last season’s disappointment. Will the possession tactics and high pressing game that he favours remain? We think they will, so let’s hope the personnel do better with it.
Assistant Manager – Sean O’Driscoll
This vastly experienced manager replaces Colin Pascoe as Brendan’s assistant. He comes to us off the back of spells with Bournemouth, Doncaster, Crawley, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and the England Under-19s. Surely having such a creditable man coming in to help Rodgers will only prove to be a benefit over the coming months.
Rodgers, who is quoted by The Guardian, said of O’Driscoll back in 2013: “He is one of the best coaches I have ever come across. He is working at Bristol City. He has never had a chance in the top flight. His teams were expressive, had movement, they were technical, but he will probably never get a chance at a higher level.”
First-Team Coach – Gary McAllister
He’s already a favourite at Anfield and rightly so. The iconic Scot was already a veteran midfielder when he signed for the Reds as a player in 2000, but his signing proved to be a masterstroke by Gerard Houlier, who he would later assist at Aston Villa. He helped us win the treble that same season and picked up five medals in total in 2001.
Rodgers, who was speaking with our official website, said of the appointment: “When I met him I was struck by his passion, enthusiasm and knowledge for what we’re looking to achieve here. He has experience coaching at the highest level and is someone who can connect with players and help them learn from his knowledge and understanding of representing this great club.”
First-Team Development Coach – Pepijn Lijnders
Lijnders has already proved his value whilst working with our academy team and rightly earned a promotion this summer. He has a great tactical knowledge of the game and his forward-thinking tactics should bring an extra dimension to Liverpool’s play.
He told our official website: “The first team wants players who are able to open up games and speed up the attack. We are working on a daily basis, individually and collectively, on those offensive, productive, creative and attractive qualities.
“With guts, courage, faith and a great heart, we look for fast individual and collective actions to get behind the defensive line. ‘You play the game 20 per cent with your head, 20 per cent with your feet and 60 per cent with your heart,’ is a famous Dutch saying. It is how Einstein said it: ‘Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.'”
First-Team Goalkeeping Coach – John Achterberg
The Dutchman joined Liverpool in 2009 and will be working closely to help both Simon Mignolet and new signing Adam Bogdan continue to improve this season. The former enjoyed a huge turnaround in fortunes during the second-half of last season, reclaiming his spot from Brad Jones and impressing with his new-found consistency.
According to our official website former Aston Villa and Tranmere manager Brian Little described Achterberg as “the most professional player” he ever worked with.
