Reading legend calls on Rob Couhig to 'build on foundations' for the future
Reading FC v Barnsley. Sky Bet League One 24/25. (Image: ©Jason Dawson)
Legendary former Reading boss Steve Coppell has called for soon-to-be new owner Rob Couhig to 'build on the foundations' laid by Noel Hunt.
'Sir' Steve, a Manchester United and England legend in his playing days, famously took the Royals to the top-flight for the first time in it's history 20 years ago, in record-breaking fashion too.
Departing in 2009 and having not managed in England for over a decade, the former skilful winger returned to the SCL Stadium on Saturday for the final day defeat to Barnsley.
Few of the 21,500 supporters in attendance cared, however, as news broke earlier in the day that Couhig's takeover had been agreed pending 'legal technicalities.'
We were joined by two members of Reading royalty on Saturday when Steve Coppell and Brian McDermott took part in a special Q&A in our Royals hospitality suite.
You can watch the Q&A in full now on Royals TV 👇
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) May 7, 2025
Speaking to supporters alongside fellow Championship-winning manager Brian McDermott, Coppell spoke of Hunt and the job he has done with the club, leading them to seventh in League One.
Coppell signed Hunt back in 2008 but it was under McDermott that the Irishman won a Championship title, coming in 2012.
"Brian brought Noel in. When he brought him in, I wasn't sure about him at first, but the warmth of his personality won everyone over, and he could play too. Two boxes were ticked. It's great to see him now with Gibbo, who worked with both of us, a solid football person.
"The foundations are there. Let's hope the takeover happens and the foundations aren't thrown out but built upon for the future success of this very special football club."
It has now been two decades since the Royals roared into the Premier League with 106 points, a Championship record.
Only losing its status as an EFL record last month as Birmingham City won League One with 111, Coppell spoke of the 'season sent from heaven.'
"For a moment in time, there was something very special. The season in which we got the record number of points was the season sent from heaven. After the first game at Plymouth when I drove home and thought 'not again'- 45 games later we were only beaten one more time. That will live with me for a long long time, until my dying day.
"I look back on certain games and certain occasions- times where it looked like we were going to lose games- Derby away and Shane Long jumped higher than the crossbar to head an equaliser in the last couple of minutes, so many special occasions in that year and the next year, to a lesser extent. It was a culmination of a couple of years hard work from everybody and everything aligned. We had hungry players who had never played in the Premiership before, and they created a very special atmosphere.
"If that atmosphere becomes a template for future teams at this club, then that is a legacy."
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