Liverpool are expected to appoint the England Under-19 head coach, Sean Oa Driscoll, as the side’s new assistant manager, reported Liverpool ECHO
Brendan Rodgers’ back room staff is going through an overhaul and the Northern Irishman has been without a number 2 since former assistant boss Colin Pascoe was axed along with first team coach Mike Marsh. After a review conducted by the club owners where Rodgers’s future was decided, Pascoe and Marsh, were sacked and “paid the price for last seasona s disappointments”.
Pascoe was Rodgers’ long time confidante and it looked like the Liverpool boss had been left isolated by the departures. However, Rodgers is a long term admirer of Oa Driscoll and has been “instrumental in the approach”.
Rodgers spoke about O’Driscoll in October 2013, heaping praise on the then Bristol City manager.
a We need to stop blaming the players,a Rodgers said at the time. a The players get the blame in this country. No, it is the coaching. The problem is that the guys who are ‘that type’ of coach you never hear of them really. Look at Sean Oa Driscoll. 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.a
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The 57 year-old has managed Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City and last September, he was appointed as the outgoing Noel Blake’s successor with England Under-19s.
Liverpool will also confirm that academy under-16s coach Pepijn Lijnders, who has worked with PSV and Porto before, as the first team coach as Mike Marsh’s replacement.
O’Driscoll’s move to Liverpool is not yet done, but he is likely to be appointed before Liverpool start their pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East on 12 July.