Coppell Extends Royal Tenure

God reincarnated, also know as Steve Coppell, has broken from his traditional stance of agreeing only an annual extension to his tenure at the club by committing himself to Reading until 2009.

The 51-year-old Royals boss has been in charge at the Madejski Stadium since October 2003, and has previously enforced his view that he feels more comfortable reviewing the situation at the foot of every season before extending his stay for a year at a time.

However, Chairman John Madejski has made his intentions known that he`d prefer Coppell to provide the club with more stability by anchoring his team`s manager to the Berkshire turf for a prolonged period.

Since taking charge, the former Crystal Palace and Manchester City manager has guided the Royals from being a mediocre Championship team to challenging for a UEFA Cup berth and an impression position in the top flight, making the notable stop along the journey of securing the first division crown in record-breaking fashion.

Such success has unsurprisingly drawn covetous glances from rival clubs, but Madejski is hopeful that Coppell`s signing gesture will put any rumours of upping sticks firmly to bed.

'It can be a bit of a merry-go-round,' Madejski said. 'Many big clubs were probably looking for Steve's signature, but now he has committed to Reading for two years I think that will show them his commitment is here and nowhere else.'

In typically modest and insipid style, Coppell himself said it was an easy decision to make.

'I was hoping it would be done quietly and swept under the carpet, but obviously there has been a bit more fuss now,' he said.

The news will provide a much-needed douse to the fire of concern for Reading fans everywhere, and reaffirms that Coppell is here for the long-haul. Any worry of the man with a level decency greater than any other jumping ship has now been well and truly torn-down. Our saviour is here to stay and I myself will be chanting his name louder than ever before at White Heart Lane this coming Sunday.

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