O'Dea hints at disruption behind scenes

Anthony Smith • Published 4 Feb 2010 16:00 3 Comments

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Gone but not forgotten: Former Reading loan defender Darren O'Dea spoke highly of Brendan Rodgers (pictured). But other club staff did not get off so lightly.

DARREN O'Dea has taken a swipe at Reading in the Irish media.

The Celtic defender made the astonishing claim that certain people working for the club are "bringing it down."

But it appears he has nothing but the utmost respect for ex-manager Brendan Rodgers who lasted just 21 league games before being sacked.

O'Dea, 22, made only eight appearances in his short loan spell at Madejski Stadium before returning to Parkhead recently.

And he told the Evening Herald: "I am glad I went to Reading and I learned a lot about the game in the time I was there.

"Brendan Rodgers was a great manager and a good bloke, but there are other people at the club who were bringing it down.

"Brendan was one of the good things about the club and I owe him a lot, it's just a pity that other people at the club were not helping, and I think Reading, as a club, will struggle until those people are gone.

"As a coach and a manager, Brendan taught me a lot and I still have a lot of time for him."

Even though O'Dea struggled to hold down a position in the team, he insisted his three-month stay in Berkshire was ultimately a positive one.

"I was moved around a bit when I was at Reading, I played centre-half and full-back. I had no problem with that," he declared.

"Reading had a few injuries and they needed people to fill in, so it wasn't a problem to play left back or right back.

"It was a good experience for me just to try something different. I've been at Celtic since I was 15 years old. I was 18 or 19 when I made my debut. I have been at the club all along and didn't have loan spells when I was younger, before I went to Reading.

"So to get out and go somewhere else, somewhere away from the goldfish bowl of life at Celtic, was good for me.

"I played eight games against good opposition and good players, maybe it should have gone better than it did, but I picked up a lot of experience there. I improved from working there."

Like O'Dea, winger Jobi McAnuff arrived at the club last summer from Watford.

But McAnuff did not experience the same grievances as the Celtic defender.

"It's not anything that I'm aware of," McAnuff argued. "Obviously he's made his comments based on his time here, but from my point of view there's nothing to say on the matter."

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Royal Bison
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Feb 4, 17:09
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This was in the press around a week ago, why is it only appearing here now?

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Richard
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Feb 5, 11:21
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May I be the first to say:

- Sack the Chairman (even though he owns the club)

- Spend more money on players (even though there isn't any)

- Boycott all remaining games (even though we've already shelled out for a season ticket).

I've got 5 GCSEs and a BTEC in catering* so I know precisely how to run a football club, which is why I _know_ that everyone at RFC is doing a bad job. It's a disgrace.

On a less sarcastic note, being a football fan in an increasingly commerc*alised environment (£130k/week salaries, Super Sundays every weekend, dodgy billionaires buying clubs as playthings etc.) is getting a bit depressing. Give me a club like Reading every time - no "living the dream", a sustainable business plan, no big time charlies (since Lita left!) and some decent home-grown players coming through. Most of our history has been in the third & fourth tiers, let alone the dizzy heights of the Championship, so let's not delude ourselves that we should be on the verge of the Big Four. The team's ok and with a bit of calmness they'll pull away from the bottom three over the next few months and we can build on that next year.

* This is poetic licence - I don't have a BTEC in anything and have a bit more on my CV than that!

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roo
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Feb 5, 12:48
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richard - you say the teams doing ok,when any team is 3rd bottom in a respective div. after getting relegated from a higher league they are definately not doing ok. but imo for a team to be doing ok they have to be equalling the previous years form, as most managers themselves will tell you.

on the subject of your sarcastic points, what you have to understand is its that very chairman you have reffered to that has put stars in the fans eyes, by bigging up the club and making it sound a bigger club than it is so he can sell at a price that suits him, rather than the true value.

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