STEVE COPPELL, the manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, is considering an offer to take over as manager of Reading after meeting John Madejski, the Reading chairman, on Wednesday.
Coppell took a training session with Brighton as usual yesterday, but dropped a hint that this weekend’s home game could mark his farewell to the club. “We are playing Blackpool on Saturday and that is all I am interested in at the moment,” he said. “It would be disrespectful of me to do anything other than give my full concentration to the team when I am here. We’ve had a good run and I want that run to finish
on a high.”
The last remark suggests he could take over at the Madejski Stadium early next week, no doubt after careful consultation with Alan Pardew, the previous Reading manager, who resigned after being refused permission to listen to an offer from West Ham United. Pardew played for Coppell at Crystal Palace and the two have remained close. Pardew’s advice may carry more weight than whatever financial package Madejski has offered.
On the face of it, a Nationwide League first division club with a modern stadium such as Reading ought to be a more attractive proposition than Brighton, a second division side squatting at a converted athletics track, but Dick Knight, the Brighton chairman, is hoping for the best.
“I’ve put a number of issues to him regarding why he should stay,” Knight said yesterday. “He is mulling those issues over, together with the offer he has had from Reading. He is very much his own man. It’s not a done thing, but who knows?” Coppell has a one-year contract with Brighton, who would expect compensation of about £100,000 — leaving Reading well in pocket after receiving £380,000 from West Ham for Pardew. Coppell has been among the front-runners for the Reading job since Pardew’s departure and became the favourite when Peter Taylor, now in charge at Hull City, turned down an approach last week.
His record at Brighton is impressive, bearing in mind the team’s situation when he took over a year ago — bottom of the first division with only four points from 12 games. One of their most impressive performances — and perhaps the most significant, bearing in mind this week’s events — was a 2-1 win away to Reading on April 4.
Should Coppell leave, he will be the fourth Brighton manager to have resigned since the club was forced to leave the Goldstone Ground, sold by a previous board in 1997. Brian Horton, Micky Adams and Peter Taylor all said the lack of a permanent ground prevented Brighton from realising its potential, and the club is awaiting the outcome of a government inquiry before it can begin construction of a stadium at Falmer.
Coppell has said that he would not have entertained Reading’s offer “if the stadium was resolved”.
Kevin Dillon, the Reading caretaker, has suffered a family bereavement, so Brian McDermott, the reserve team manager, will take charge for the home game with Bradford City tomorrow.
While those backing Glenn Hoddle, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, to succeed Pardew appear to have been wide of the mark, John Gorman, Hoddle’s trusted lieutenant, has taken over as manager of Wycombe Wanderers on a temporary basis. “We worked well together but we are our own people,” Gorman said. “I am interested in this job full-time, but that doesn’t indicate anything about Glenn’s future.”
Gorman succeeds Lawrie Sanchez, who left Wycombe on Tuesday, but, it was revealed yesterday, had actually been dismissed seven days earlier.
Coppell took a training session with Brighton as usual yesterday, but dropped a hint that this weekend’s home game could mark his farewell to the club. “We are playing Blackpool on Saturday and that is all I am interested in at the moment,” he said. “It would be disrespectful of me to do anything other than give my full concentration to the team when I am here. We’ve had a good run and I want that run to finish
on a high.” The last remark suggests he could take over at the Madejski Stadium early next week, no doubt after careful consultation with Alan Pardew, the previous Reading manager, who resigned after being refused permission to listen to an offer from West Ham United. Pardew played for Coppell at Crystal Palace and the two have remained close. Pardew’s advice may carry more weight than whatever financial package Madejski has offered.
On the face of it, a Nationwide League first division club with a modern stadium such as Reading ought to be a more attractive proposition than Brighton, a second division side squatting at a converted athletics track, but Dick Knight, the Brighton chairman, is hoping for the best.
“I’ve put a number of issues to him regarding why he should stay,” Knight said yesterday. “He is mulling those issues over, together with the offer he has had from Reading. He is very much his own man. It’s not a done thing, but who knows?” Coppell has a one-year contract with Brighton, who would expect compensation of about £100,000 — leaving Reading well in pocket after receiving £380,000 from West Ham for Pardew. Coppell has been among the front-runners for the Reading job since Pardew’s departure and became the favourite when Peter Taylor, now in charge at Hull City, turned down an approach last week.
His record at Brighton is impressive, bearing in mind the team’s situation when he took over a year ago — bottom of the first division with only four points from 12 games. One of their most impressive performances — and perhaps the most significant, bearing in mind this week’s events — was a 2-1 win away to Reading on April 4.
Should Coppell leave, he will be the fourth Brighton manager to have resigned since the club was forced to leave the Goldstone Ground, sold by a previous board in 1997. Brian Horton, Micky Adams and Peter Taylor all said the lack of a permanent ground prevented Brighton from realising its potential, and the club is awaiting the outcome of a government inquiry before it can begin construction of a stadium at Falmer.
Coppell has said that he would not have entertained Reading’s offer “if the stadium was resolved”.
Kevin Dillon, the Reading caretaker, has suffered a family bereavement, so Brian McDermott, the reserve team manager, will take charge for the home game with Bradford City tomorrow.
While those backing Glenn Hoddle, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, to succeed Pardew appear to have been wide of the mark, John Gorman, Hoddle’s trusted lieutenant, has taken over as manager of Wycombe Wanderers on a temporary basis. “We worked well together but we are our own people,” Gorman said. “I am interested in this job full-time, but that doesn’t indicate anything about Glenn’s future.”
Gorman succeeds Lawrie Sanchez, who left Wycombe on Tuesday, but, it was revealed yesterday, had actually been dismissed seven days earlier.
