Liverpool Appoint Assistant Manager Sean O'Driscoll and Coach Pepijn Lijnders

Liverpool have revamped the coaching setup supporting manager Brendan Rodgers ahead of the 2015-16 season, with Sean O’Driscoll and Pepijn Lijnders confirmed as new assistant manager and first-team coach, respectively.

The news was announced via a statement on the club’s official website, in which the Reds boss revealed he is looking for a “new technical direction”:

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I have made these appointments because I want to take us in a new technical direction, in terms of coaching.

I believe the entire first-team set-up will benefit and I am extremely positive and excited about what we can achieve, as a group, going forward.

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O’Driscoll, previously in charge of the England under-19 side, will assume the role of Rodgers’ right-hand man after the departure of Colin Pascoe last month, looking to draw upon the experience he has accrued during time at Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.

“I am excited to be joining one of the world's most iconic football clubs,” said O’Driscoll, per the aforementioned piece. “The hallmark of any successful club is its culture and that comes from the people who work there, from the chief executive and first-team manager to those people behind the scenes whose faces may not be known but who are the lifeblood of the club.”

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Lijnders replaces former first-team coach Mike Marsh, who was another victim of the coaching cull at the end of the 2014-15 season. The newly appointed first-team coach was in charge of the club’s under-16 squad during the previous campaign, a role in which Rodgers claims he has “excelled.”

“I feel proud and honoured to work closely with Brendan and his staff,” said the former PSV Eindhoven and FC Porto coach, per the aforementioned piece. “I couldn't think of a better attacking manager to assist.”

Football editor Melissa Reddy outlines what she thinks these changes ultimately mean for the Merseyside club:

With a restructured squad and a few fresh faces on the coaching team, it’s imperative everything aligns for Liverpool quickly from the outset of the 2015-16 campaign.

Rodgers has been decisive in both the recruitment of players and the figures he wants to surround him moving forward, with the club’s owners clearly giving him their full backing after a turbulent end to the previous season.

But if the Reds stumble out of the starting blocks next month, it’s the manager who will feel the brunt of pressure.