Brian McDermott

At 63 years old, Brian McDermott has this physical status:

Brian James McDermott (born 8 April 1961) is a former professional footballer and former manager of Reading. Born in Slough to Irish parents, McDermott joined Arsenal as an apprentice in 1977 and went on to play for Fulham, IFK Norrköping, Oxford United, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, Exeter City and Yeovil Town in a 14-year playing career during the 1980s and 1990s.

At IFK Norrköping he was named Sweden's Player of the Year in 1984.

He finished his playing career at Slough Town in 1995.

The following season, he became manager of Slough Town where he had a very successful few years in the Conference. Following the sacking of Brendan Rodgers, McDermott was appointed manager of Reading.

In his first season as manager of Reading he led them into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in 83 years, a run that included knocking out Liverpool at Anfield.

The following season, he repeated the feat, this time with an away win over Liverpool's city rivals Everton.

McDermott led Reading to a Championship playoff final, where they lost to Swansea City; the following season Reading were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship.

On 11 March 2013, McDermott was sacked with the club in 19th place.

McDermott made a swift return to management, replacing Neil Warnock at Leeds United.

He left the post by mutual consent on 27 May 2014.

Personal life

McDermott was born to Irish parents. In an interview in 2012, he revealed he was a supporter of Sligo Rovers and that one of his goals was to manage the Republic of Ireland national side one day.

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Playing career

McDermott, a born in Slough, Buckinghamshire, joined Arsenal as an apprentice in January 1977, before moving to the club in February 1979. He was a regular in Arsenal's reserve team from 1978 to 1979, finishing as the top scorer in the Football Combination from 1978 to 1979 before making his debut as a replacement against Bristol City on March 10, 1979. He did not fully break into the Arsenal first squad until the 1980–81 season, totaling 45 appearances (14 as sub) in all competitions from 1981 to 1982.

He played a little less in the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons and then to IFK Norrköping, where he was named Sweden's Player of the Year twice. McDermott earned a permanent move to Oxford United in December 1984, scoring 13 goals on his first 72 appearances (44 starts, 28 as sub) for Arsenal.

McDermott's later career included a loan spell at Huddersfield Town and in Djurgrdens IF, as well as stints at Cardiff City, Exeter City, and Yeovil Town.

McDermott returned to England and compete with STAMCO while working at Slough Town as the Football in the Community Officer after a spell with club South China. He played briefly for Slough Town before being handed over to the club.

Coaching and managerial career

McDermott joined Slough Town as a player in 1995, but after the release of then boss Dave Russell in March 1996, he took up a player manager role for the club. Slough finished in 17th place in the Conference during the 1995–96 season. McDermott spent two seasons as the manager of Slough, beginning in 1996-97 in 16th place and then in 1998-98, ranked 8th. The group, which had purchased the club out of receivership seven years earlier, decided that they were not able to pay for ground improvements required to remain in the Conference, and consequently the club was kicked back to the Isthmian League, although only four of the club's players were fired due to financial hardships, including manager Brian McDermott.

McDermott took over Woking's managership in September 1998 after leaving Slough Town in the summer of 1998. However, Brian McDermott was fired by Woking on February 29, 2000, following a poor 1999–2000 season and with Woking struggling in 20th place in the table.

McDermott took over as Chief Scout with Alan Pardew's Reading in September 2000, replacing Maurice Evans. Following Brendan Rodgers' departure on December 17, McDermott became the under-19s and reserve team's boss before taking over as the caretaker first team boss.

McDermott's first game as manager was a 1-1 draw at Bristol City, with Simon Church scoring a 90th-minute equalizer for the Royals.

In the FA Cup third round, McDermott's Reading defeated Liverpool's Liverpool in the FA Cup third round on January 2, 2010, with Simon Church leading until Steven Gerrard equalized for Liverpool. After a delay of 90 minutes and a header in extra time from Shane Long, the game came to a 1–1 draw, earning the Royals a replay at Anfield on January 13th, when Reading went from 1–0 down to win 2–1 after extra time thanks to a penalty from Gylfi Sigursson in stoppage time. This was McDermott's first victory in charge of Reading and the first for the club at Anfield.

Thanks to a late strike from Gylfi Sigursson, the Royals gained a spot in the FA Cup fifth round.

McDermott, Reading's full-time manager, signed a 12-month rolling contract on January 27, 2010. For the first time in 83 years, he led the Royals on a four-match winning streak and into the FA Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 83 years, beating West Bromwich Albion 3–2. McDermott was nominated for Manager of the Month for February and received the award in March.

McDermott won another exciting FA Cup match in 2010–11, defeating West Brom and Everton before narrowly losing to eventual FA Cup champions Manchester City. The Royals recovered from a slow start to finish fifth and guarantee a spot in the Play-offs. Shane Long, a goalless first leg at the Madejski Stadium in Cardiff, scored twice in a 3–0 win over Reading to Wembley for the Play-off Final on May 30, 2011, where his team lost 4–2 to Swansea City, led by Brendan Rodgers.

McDermott led Reading to Premier League promotion after a remarkable run of 15 victories in 17 games. McDermott was named as the Year's Champion of the League at the League Managers Association Awards on May 14th.

McDermott took over his first top flight match as Reading boss on August 18, 2012, drawing 1–1 at home to Stoke.

Reading were involved in an historic League Cup match against Arsenal at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012. After 35 minutes, Reading was up by 4–0, but after extra time, the tie was tied 7-5, but it was 7–5. "It was kamikaze football" after the match, McDermott said. It's my worst loss of my career."

On the eleventh attempt, McDermott led Reading to their first Premier League victory of the 2012–13 season, defeating Everton 2–1 at home.

McDermott was voted Premier League Manager of the Month for January after leading his team to victories over West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United as well as a hard-fought draw with Chelsea in third place.

Despite his success in January, McDermott was fired from his position at Reading by owner Anton Zingarevich after a string of four consecutive losses.

Following Neil Warnock's departure in April 2013, Brian McDermott took over as Leeds United's boss on a 3-year deal, with assistant manager Nigel Gibbs joining him at the club.

McDermott said he would have started his managerial career in Summer 2013 but the club's status and situation caused him to decline with five games remaining in the 2012–2013 season. Leeds defeated Sheffield United on Wednesday in a 2–1 victory at Elland Road, his first match in charge.

Brian McDermott, the head coach of Leeds Rhinos' high-profile professional rugby league team, was also named by chance.

McDermott brought together £1 million midfielder Luke Murphy from Crewe Alexandra and defender Scott Wootton from Manchester United in the summer of 2013. He continued adding to the list by completing several free transfers, including forwards Noel Hunt and Matt Smith in July and Lithuanian international defender Marius aliskis in late October. However, McDermott remained with a relatively unchanged squad from the previous season. McDermott's side started the season slowly with a series of draws and losses; however, Leeds' return to form from October to December saw them finish fifth in the table, consistently among the playoff positions. Brian McDermott's side slumped to 12th place after a dramatic lack of form in late December and January, with a five match losing streak stretching into late December and January (including a surprise FA Cup loss to Rochdale and a 6–0 derby loss to Sheffield Wednesday).

In January 2014, rumors that Leeds would be under attack by Massimo Cellino, the Italian entrepreneur and Cagliari owner. Cellino's team, led by a delegation from Elland Road and the Thorp Arch training ground several times, and Cellino had requested for his colleague and former Middlesbrough defender Gianluca Festa to sit in the dugout for Leeds' 1–1 draw with Ipswich on January 28.

McDermott had been fired as the club's manager, according to Gianluca Festa, who speculated in the media that he was his most likely replacement. Following day, news surfaced that Gulf Finance House club directors were trying to reinstate McDermott as manager, but the Cellino family (the club's prospective new owners) had no power to fire him.

Nigel Gibbs, a McDermott assistant, was appointed caretaker for the team's home derby against Huddersfield Town on February 1st. McDermott had not been fired and remained first team boss following the game, according to a club spokesperson.

McDermott returned to the club on February 3rd and conducted first team training and a press conference, announcing that he had been reinstated after being reportedly dismissed by a solicitor on January 31. McDermott expressed his admiration for the club and said the fans' love for the team in the 5–1 victory over Huddersfield Town indicated that despite the confusion, he wanted to return to the position. With the possibility of Cellino's takeover still being allowed by the Football League, there has been rumors about his long-term future.

McDermott's assistant manager Nigel Gibbs revealed in his press conference on Saturday that prospective new head coach Gianluca Festa had changed the starting lineup he had chosen for the game against Huddersfield on January 31 January. McDermott said on February 3 that Festa was still on display, but this time being a translator for new signing Andrea Tabanelli. Tabanelli was signed in the window between McDermott's dismissal and his reinstatement. McDermott said the move was scrutinized by the Football League to see if the players were suspended if the players were banned.

Tabanelli's transfer to Leeds had been postponed until the "contract did not comply with Football League rules," according to the Leeds team's announcement on February 7th that they had swapped contracts for Leeds to Cellino's family consortium Eleonora Sport Ltd. The Cellino family gained 75% interest in the club as a result of Football League recognition under Football League rules.

McDermott's first team was boosted with the signings of Jack Butland and Connor Wickham, but McDermott revealed that he had been in negotiations with Cellino regarding the two high-profile signings in February 2014.

In a television interview with ITV, Leeds chief John Cellino challenged McDermott's decision to take a holiday, even though the club "have no boss" and asked "who's governing this club?" after the club finished the season in a disappointing 15th position on May 14th.

Brian, where's Brian?"

The academy players' decision would be made by Neil Redfearn on the same day it was revealed that Cellino and Benito Carbone would handle players not McDermott. Leeds reported Carbone's position at the club on May 15th in a statement on the club's official website on May 15th. Carbone "will be involved with all football matters, including both the first team and the Academy," the club announced on May 15th.

McDermott and Leeds United parted company on May 30, 2014, with owner Cellino stating that he preferred a new approach rather than a manager. McDermott was appointed Leeds manager by Dave Hockaday, who took over as head coach in a role on June 16th.

McDermott took over as head scout with Arsenal on October 6th, 2014, the first day he was granted as the Reading manager's job. After leaving Reading in June 2016, he resumed his role as Arsenal'scout and continued in the role until the club revealed a series of redundancies in August 2020.

McDermott returned to his former club as their new manager on December 17, 2015, after weeks of rumors. McDermott was fired six months later on May 27th, 2016.

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