Official At Last - Brian McDermott Is Back

17 December 2015
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Reading Football Club have finally confirmed the appointment of Brian McDermott as new Reading manager. McDermott was revealed by the club in a press conference at the Madejski Stadium this afternoon, finally ending speculation about his return. McDermott has signed a two and a half year contract with the club, saying that a return "felt right". John Madejski was quick to point out that McDermott had previously left against his wishes, when he was previously dismissed by Anton Zingarevich in March 2013.

McDermott returns to Reading after being given the sack with the club struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League table. His appointment has been one of the worst kept secrets in football, with the initial rumours of his return starting immediately after the dismissal of former manager Steve Clarke. Plans were already in place to give McDermott his old job back nearly two weeks ago, which led to widespread reports on 9 December that a deal had been done. Since then a few rumours of other managers have come and gone but never amounted to much.

The real question was if Brian was ready to give up his role as scout at Arsenal and return to the club that treated him so badly before. The good news for Reading fans is that, after another full week of waiting, and two more away defeats, McDermott has finally made his official return as Reading boss.

Although some fans have reservations about returning to an old manager, McDermott remains a very popular figure at Reading and is Reading through and through. A common opinion is that McDermott should never have been sacked when he was. He remains an ideal, and proven, manager to get Reading promoted out of the Championship. Everyone is hoping he can restore some positivity to the squad after Steve Clarke's brief reign ended in a run of poor results that dragged Reading down the table.

McDermott returns to what is probably a much stronger squad and with the side reasonably placed in midtable. There's still enough of the season left to make an impact, and he will be hoping to make an immediate impression during his first game back in charge, when Blackburn Rovers visit the Madjeski Stadium this weekend.

McDermott turned the club's fortunes around immediately after his arrival in December 2009. With Reading struggling in the Championship he lifted them up the table to a 9th place finish and also guided Reading to the FA Cup quarter finals. His first full season in charge saw further improvement as Reading finished fifth only to lose in the play-off final. Next season Reading were crowned Champions to complete their return to the Premier League for only the second time in their history. A lack of investment and support from those in charge saw Reading spend the next season in the bottom two and led to McDermott's sacking.

Brian McDermott's Reading Record:

• Wins: 76
• Draws: 44
• Defeats: 50

• From the past - 9 December 2015: McDermott To Return As Reading Manager
• From the past - 11 March 2013: Brian McDermott Sacked

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