Coppell Set To ‘Do a Jewell’ And Leave Reading

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They say being a football manager is a stressful business and so it’s proving for Steve Coppell, who has dropped his biggest hint yet that he’s ready to quit football management very soon.

“I’m looking very shortly at having some time off,” the 52-year-old told The Sun. ”I can’t enjoy management. I work all week to win a game. If we win I have an unbeatable high for 20 minutes, but then it’s thinking about the next game. If we are beaten, it’s a bottomless pit. It goes through my mind when I get beat, do I need this?”

Coppell, who’s been linked to the vacant England manager’s job, replaced Alan Pardew as manager of Reading four years ago and steered the Royals into the Premier League two seasons ago. Despite being one of the favourites for relegation, the Berkshire club finished eighth in the top flight last term.

Who would replace the former Crystal Palace manager at the Madejski Stadium? And would Coppell bother to return to management, like Paul Jewell has recently done?