It is being widely reported that League One side Walsall could announce Sean O’Driscoll as their new manager as early as later today. He would become the successor to Dean Smith, who recently left to take up the vacant hot-seat with Championship side Brentford.
Sports reporters such as Andy Turner and Peter Blackburn revealed on Twitter that their understanding is that O’Driscoll will make a swift return to football, after leaving his role as assistant manager at Liverpool when Brendan Rodgers was relieved of his duties as manager.
His odds have also taken a massive hit in the betting, leaving him as the odds-on favourite to be installed as the next first-team manager at Bescot Stadium. This move would give the 58-year-old has first club manager’s job since leaving Bristol City in November 2013. Shortly afterwards he was handed a role with the Football Association as manager of the England Under-19 side, before taking up a coaching role at Anfield.
O’Driscoll is certainly no stranger to football management and can boast a huge amount of experience to his name. He spent the vast majority of his playing career with AFC Bournemouth, ending his playing career with the club before taking on the manager’s job some five years after retiring. He enjoyed a more than successful spell at Dean Court guiding the club into Division Two (now League One) via the play-offs despite huge financial restraints.
He further enhanced his reputation with Doncaster Rovers, where he enjoyed a five year spell at the Yorkshire club. He took the club into the Championship in 2008, again via the play-offs. Along the way he also took the club to Wembley the season before, guiding them to the Football League Trophy title. Brief stints at Crawley Town, Nottingham Forest and then Bristol City followed.
He certainly wants to get himself back into the management game and reinstall his reputation. It isn’t as if he necessarily needs to do that, as he is more than respected throughout the game. However he himself may feel as though he has something to prove as even since leaving Doncaster, he has struggled to really impose himself in a job. He should be given time at Walsall and with him taking them over in a healthy league position there is every chance he could be celebrated another promotion out of this division. Dean Smith has a similar footballing philosophy so tactically he may not change a great deal. Nevertheless, this would be a very good appointment by Walsall.
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