Sean O’Driscoll turned Doncaster into the ‘Arsenal of the north’ and is now heading to Liverpool – all you need to know

Liverpool are set to announce Sean O’Driscoll as assistant manager
The 57-year-old will leave his post as England Under 19 boss
O’Driscoll has managed Doncaster, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City
Brendan Rodgers is also a big fan of the ‘intelligent but quiet’ coach

Published:
11:54 GMT, 30 June 2015

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Updated:
13:39 GMT, 30 June 2015

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Brendan Rodgers never forgot about Sean O’Driscoll after facing him in his first ever game as a manager. Nearly seven years later, Rodgers wants his fellow football purist to be his new No 2 at Liverpool.

The former Doncaster Rovers boss will replace Colin Pascoe, who was sacked along with the first-team coach Mike Marsh.

Sportsmail looks at the man destined to be a major influence at Anfield next season.

Sean O’Driscoll is to be named as Liverpool’s new assistant manager ahead of the new season

Brendan Rodgers is known to admire the England Under-19 manager, which has helped sway his decision

Noisy

Wolverhampton-born O’Driscoll was training to be an accountant when Fulham unexpectedly signed him from non-league football and gave him a professional debut at the age of 22. He went on to play for just two clubs, Fulham and Bournemouth, in a 16-year career which also saw him win three Republic of Ireland caps.

Harry Redknapp, his first manager at Bournemouth, ironically nicknamed him ‘Noisy’ because, as he explained to friends, ‘He never said a bloody word.’

Mr Bournemouth

O’Driscoll spent nearly 23 years at Dean Court when they were a far cry from the Premier League club they are today. He played for Bournemouth for 11 years between 1984 and 1995, and after retirement worked for five years as community relations officer, physio and youth coach, and a manager for six – all in the lower leagues.

His big break came in 2004 when Bournemouth beat Doncaster 5-0 in a League One game. Doncaster had far more money than The Cherries in those days and their owner John Ryan admitted: ‘I’d never seen football like it in the lower leagues.’ When the opportunity came to appoint O’Driscoll in 2006, he took it to coincide with the club’s move into their new Keepmoat Stadium.

O’Driscoll was very successful at Bournemouth including winning the Nationwide Division Three play-offs

Arsenal of the north

O’Driscoll threw League One convention on its head by trying to make Doncaster a pure footballing team. ‘He wanted intelligent players and gave them responsibility,’ said Ryan. The initial results weren’t good, Doncaster failed to win any of their first seven matches under O’Driscoll and frustrated fans started to shout ‘Get it into the box.’ He became known as Sean Who? by those supporters who had wanted Ryan to use his personal friendship with local Doncaster-born hero Kevin Keegan to lure him to the club.

But O’Driscoll signed three players from his old Bournemouth team Brian Stock, James Hayter and James O’Connor and the touchpaper was lit. Doncaster started to dominate teams and the following season Hayter scored the only goal at Wembley as Rovers outplayed Leeds United in the League One play-off final to win promotion.

O’Driscoll kept them in the Championship for three seasons playing a brand of football that saw unfashionably Donny hailed in Yorkshire as the ‘Arsenal of the north’. One goal against QPR came from a move of 37 passes, another against Forest was 30 passes culminating into a chip into the top corner.

The former Doncaster boss was praised for getting his sides to play an expansive and exciting style

Brendan takes note

Watford took a gamble when they hired 35-year-old unknown Chelsea coach Brendan Rodgers as their new manager in November 2008. His first match in charge came at Vicarage Road against O’Driscoll’s Doncaster, who were 23rd in the table, but the match proved harder than Watford envisaged and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Over the next few seasons, Rodgers pitted his wits against O’Driscoll again as manager of Reading and Swansea. Although Doncaster were not the most glamorous club in the division, O’Driscoll’s template as a pass-and-move manager left an impression on Rodgers, who got Swansea into the Premier League with similar technical football, which got him the job at Liverpool.

Rodgers has subsequently praised O’Driscoll’s expressive football philosophy – ‘one of the best coaches I have ever come across’ – and it is no surprise he sees the 57-year-old as a good fit for the working environment at Melwood.

Rodgers’ first ever game in charge at Watford was against O’Driscoll and the final score was 1-1

A serious introvert

O’Driscoll is happiest on the training pitch but uncomfortable with the public duties you need to perform as a manager, including dealing with the media.

While his teams played impressive football, O’Driscoll can be a tetchy and awkward figure in press conferences, regularly falling out with the local press and falling out with his chairmen if they go overboard in trying to create publicity for their clubs. In that respect, he should dovetail nicely with Rodgers who is far more comfortable in the limelight.

Despite his success at Doncaster, O’Driscoll’s moodiness did him few favours when the club had a poor start to the 2011/12 season and he left the club in the autumn. He had similar experiences in short spells at Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.

Ironically, his current job with England under-19s, coaching the best young talent in the country without the pressures of daily club management, has suited him well. But when Liverpool come knocking, it is hard to turn down.

The ex-Crawley boss is known to quiet and isn’t a fan of public speaking, which has ruffled a few feathers

Strengths and weaknesses

Those who know O’Driscoll speak of a very intelligent man who is able to impart his knowledge to footballers of varying standards. His unusual route into professional football has also left an indelible will to win, something noted by Redknapp, who said: ‘If ever I have to have a heart transplant, I want Sean’s heart.’

He won promotions as a player with Bournemouth and manager with Doncaster so he has a proven track record of success at a certain level. Of course though, he is completely unproven in the Premier League and dealing with big-name stars on a daily basis.

He may have to try and relax in terms of his personality to get the best out of them, though his supporters would point out he was manager when Jermain Defoe scored 19 goals in 31 matches on loan at Bournemouth.

The 57-year-old has impressed as England U19 manager and can get the best out of Liverpool’s younger stars

Something to prove

Arguably the biggest club O’Driscoll has had the chance to manager was Nottingham Forest, where he was sacked after five months in charge having just beaten Leeds United 4-2. He didn’t lose two matches in a row at any stage of his short time in charge which suggests while he can get on with players, he can be prickly with everyone else.

One of his forwards Simon Cox tweeted after O’Driscoll got the chop: ‘So we win 4-2 and the manager gets the sack. Gutted for Sean, pleasure to work under.’

With Rodgers as the front-man at Liverpool, O’Driscoll will be able to get on with his work away from the glare of publicity, and that should suit everyone.

O’Driscoll struggled in charge of Nottingham Forest and Bristol City and was sacked from both clubs

There will be one familiar face for him at Liverpool…

As England under-19s coach for the past 12 months, O’Driscoll has worked with Joe Gomez, a talented defender who signed for Liverpool from Charlton Athletic a fortnight ago for a fee of £3.5million.

Gomez played three times for O’Driscoll and though England narrowly failed to qualify for this summer’s European Championship following a 2-1 qualifying defeat in France, working with the best young players like Chelsea’s Izzy Brown and Manchester City target Pat Roberts, it has showcased what O’Driscoll is about, developing youngsters to play good football.