Royals

Steve Coppell was this week voted the League Managers Association's manager of the season for the second successive year.

It is an incredible achievement by our boss, and he was delighted to receive his award from England boss Steve McClaren. Thanks to Action Images for the photo, which you can click for a larger version.

Coppell spoke to leaguemanagers.com at length about the award, and he was delighted with the recognition.

Steve Coppell

LMA: "It's the awards season but this one probably is the important one from a manager's point of view in that it's decided by your peers who know what you go through, they experience the same emotions."

SC: "Because of that they understand. I think fellow managers would appreciate somebody working with perhaps lesser resources than other clubs in the same division. You're in the same division but that doesn't mean it's an even contest.

"I think we did punch above our weight this year and to have that first of all noticed and then voted for by your fellow managers, that's the most pleasing part, because they know what it takes, what's involved, the hours, the commitment.

"I'm not one for awards; I'm not one who thinks I need some kind of verification by anybody to know if I've done a good job.

"We've done well this year, I know that but it's so much more pleasing when other people from your own profession say 'given the resources, given the people around, he's done a terrific job' and I just appreciate that so much."

Steve Coppell

LMA: "It's a very competitive time of year when you are trying to attract players to your club. Such an award has got to be a selling point for you if players are maybe looking at Reading as a club from overseas, don't know too much about it but then hear that you got this award."

SC: "Well you would think so wouldn't you? I have to say I thought that might have been the case but I heard recently that we were quite serious about signing a player and the message came back to me that 'the player concerned has no interest in talking to Reading' [laughs]!

"So in the real world other things are looked at; the size of the club, the prospects, potential, the remuneration, all these things make a decision for a player. Maybe it just gives us more of an edge than we had last year but I am not going to bank on it."

Royals

LMA: "On the same day that you were accepting your award, Paul Jewell decided to step down and recharge his batteries, how much can you empathise with that situation and do you maybe expect it to become more common place?"

SC: "The job of a football manager is an absolutely wonderful job. If you strip it down to the bare bones; going into training, preparing the training, preparing the team, going to games, having that camaraderie, all of that is absolutely magnificent.

"When you win a game, it is the best feeling ever but the reality is that you don't win every game and when you get beat the pressure that is placed on managers now is cruel.

"You can't scratch your head on the sidelines without it being shown on TV, every facial expression is magnified, everything you say is studied more closely than a Prime Ministers speech. They are waiting for a gaffe to be honest.

"This is then compounded if you are losing games and your own supporters or the people who employed you start questioning your decisions.

"It's a lonely job anyway but when you are not winning games you become so isolated and it's that isolation I think which over a period of time just wears you down.

"The managers who win every week, they don't feel it because winning is a beautiful feeling. If you are losing more than you are winning, everyone is having a go at you and your whole situation is spotlighted every day for three days every weekend, it's a hell of a difficult job.

"I can fully understand the fabulous feeling of elation and exhilaration that Paul must have felt [beating Sheffield United to stay in the Premiership] but also then, and I feel it and we've had a comparatively great year, just the sort of feeling of being empty, almost exhausted.

"The need to get away to recharge batteries, all these things figure very, very highly on a manager's scale at this present moment in time."

Coppell's record
Steve has been in charge of Reading for 188 games, winning 91, drawing 46 and losing 51.