Post by QPR Report on May 15, 2009 6:17:08 GMT
Meanwhile for QPR it's 5+ weeks since Sousa axed (and let's not forget, the Sousa axing didn't come completely out of the blue so had time to consider options)
Guardian/Stuart James Pomotion for Reading or push off was always the plan, admits Steve Coppell• Club receive close to 100 applications for the vacancy
• Steve Coppell to help with the recruitment process
Steve Coppell has revealed that he made up his mind at the start of the season that he would stand down as Reading's manager if the club failed to win promotion. The 53-year-old, who confirmed yesterday that he would be taking a much-needed break, admitted that the only reason he stayed on at the Madejski Stadium last summer was in the belief that he could take Reading back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Burnley's play-off semi-final victory on Tuesday brought an end to those hopes and prompted Coppell to tell Sir John Madejski, the Reading chairman, of his decision. "It was time for me to move on and that chapter has finished," he said.
Coppell has since offered to help with the recruitment process, which has already seen Reading receive close to 100 applications, although the early indications are that the club have already identified a clear frontrunner in the Watford manager, Brendan Rodgers.
While Coppell's decision to quit within minutes of the defeat to Burnley might have looked like a knee-jerk response, he claimed yesterday that he had decided he would walk away if he failed to deliver promotion "on the day I started work at the beginning of the season".
He added: "I was 100% aiming at promotion; that was what it was all about and the only reason I came back last year. I wanted to erase the memory of relegation and the only way I could do that was promotion."
The former Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Brentford and Brighton manager now says that he is looking forward to the chance to get away for a period. "I think it's time for a break," he said. "I'd done eight years on the bounce and you never get chance to draw breath. I want to go and watch other people work and continue my education as a football manager. I will have a break then get back, but I don't know where at the moment."
His choice might well be restricted if he insists on a similar structure to the one he had at Reading. "Directors of football are looked upon with suspicion at a lot of clubs but I've found Nicky Hammond's input complementary to everything I've wanted to do," Coppell added. "The focus for me has just been on trying to win football games. It doesn't happen that way at a lot of other clubs, so I think for me personally that's the most essential criterion of what happens in the future."
Coppell's first-team coaches, Wally Downes and Kevin Dillon, have both been told their contracts will not be renewed as Madejski reflected on "the end of an era and time for a change".
The Reading chairman said that finding a replacement for Coppell will be "like looking for a needle in a haystack" but maintained that the club will not lose their direction. "I don't see that
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/14/reading-steve-coppell-championship
Guardian/Stuart James Pomotion for Reading or push off was always the plan, admits Steve Coppell• Club receive close to 100 applications for the vacancy
• Steve Coppell to help with the recruitment process
Steve Coppell has revealed that he made up his mind at the start of the season that he would stand down as Reading's manager if the club failed to win promotion. The 53-year-old, who confirmed yesterday that he would be taking a much-needed break, admitted that the only reason he stayed on at the Madejski Stadium last summer was in the belief that he could take Reading back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Burnley's play-off semi-final victory on Tuesday brought an end to those hopes and prompted Coppell to tell Sir John Madejski, the Reading chairman, of his decision. "It was time for me to move on and that chapter has finished," he said.
Coppell has since offered to help with the recruitment process, which has already seen Reading receive close to 100 applications, although the early indications are that the club have already identified a clear frontrunner in the Watford manager, Brendan Rodgers.
While Coppell's decision to quit within minutes of the defeat to Burnley might have looked like a knee-jerk response, he claimed yesterday that he had decided he would walk away if he failed to deliver promotion "on the day I started work at the beginning of the season".
He added: "I was 100% aiming at promotion; that was what it was all about and the only reason I came back last year. I wanted to erase the memory of relegation and the only way I could do that was promotion."
The former Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Brentford and Brighton manager now says that he is looking forward to the chance to get away for a period. "I think it's time for a break," he said. "I'd done eight years on the bounce and you never get chance to draw breath. I want to go and watch other people work and continue my education as a football manager. I will have a break then get back, but I don't know where at the moment."
His choice might well be restricted if he insists on a similar structure to the one he had at Reading. "Directors of football are looked upon with suspicion at a lot of clubs but I've found Nicky Hammond's input complementary to everything I've wanted to do," Coppell added. "The focus for me has just been on trying to win football games. It doesn't happen that way at a lot of other clubs, so I think for me personally that's the most essential criterion of what happens in the future."
Coppell's first-team coaches, Wally Downes and Kevin Dillon, have both been told their contracts will not be renewed as Madejski reflected on "the end of an era and time for a change".
The Reading chairman said that finding a replacement for Coppell will be "like looking for a needle in a haystack" but maintained that the club will not lose their direction. "I don't see that
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/14/reading-steve-coppell-championship