Appointed Royals boss in October 2003 after the departure of Alan Pardew to West Ham United, leaving the hotseat at Brighton & Hove Albion to take over at Madejski Stadium.

Steve started his playing career with Tranmere Rovers before joining Manchester United in 1975, and helped United win the FA Cup two years later.

He went on to become an Old Trafford legend, staying with the Red Devils until injury forced his retirement at the age of 28 in 1983.

He also made 42 appearances for England, playing in both the 1980 European Championships and the 1982 World Cup.

His management career started with Crystal Palace in 1984, and he oversaw a transformation at Selhurst Park which resulted in the Eagles gaining promotion to the top flight in 1988/89 through the play-offs.

In 1990 he led Palace to the FA Cup Final, where they lost to Manchester United after a replay, and the following season Coppell guided Palace to a third place finish in the old Division One. He later had three further management spells at Selhurst Park, taking them into the Premiership in 1997, and also had a brief spell in charge at Manchester City.

In 2001 he took over at Brentford, and led the Bees to the Division Two play-off final after losing out on automatic promotion to Reading, and in October 2002 he was appointed at Brighton, where he nearly salvaged an escape from relegation after a disastrous start to the season. He left the Seagulls top of the Division Two table to take over at Madejski Stadium.

His spell at Reading has been nothing short of phenomenal. In his first two seasons in charge he guided the Royals to ninth and then seventh place in the Championship, on both occasions missing out on the play-offs on the last day of the season.

But the following season was an unheralded success as he steered Reading to the League title. On the way, the Royals set a new record of 106 points for the season, scoring 99 goals. The club's promotion was also a record for the earliest ever promotion to the Premiership.

His record in that season earned Coppell a number of accolades. He topped the League Managers Association League and won the Manager of the Year award for the BBC South Sports Awards

In Reading's first season ever in the top-flight, Coppell oversaw a successful campaign, twice winning the Manager of the Month award after strong results in September and November.

Our stunning form continued as we ended the season just one place outside the UEFA Cup qualification spots, and Steve was again given the LMA manager of the season by his peers, as well as signing a new two-year contract.

Unfortunately the next season did not go to plan and we were relegated on the final day of the season despite a 4-0 win at Derby.