Former Reading coach Eddie Niedzwiecki labelled the 2019-2021 Coronavirus impacted spell as 'one of the most difficult' in his career.

The 65-year-old former Chelsea goalkeeper has had three spells with the Royals, the first stretching back as far as 1991.

Most recently, the former Premier League coach was given the role of Head of Player Development between 2022 and 2024, but fell victim of the club's off-field struggles and was made redundant in January.

READ MORE: Reading FC coach praises Academy and staff after exit

Speaking exclusively to The Reading Chronicle, Niedzwiecki opened up on his separate stints in Berkshire, starting under Ian Porterfield in the early 1990s.

"There was a gentleman who used to be at Chelsea called Roger Smee," the former keeper explained. "He bought the club and took Ian Porterfield with him, who was assistant manager at Chelsea at the time. At that time I was with the youth team and Ian asked if I’d like to go with him.

"I think I had 15 or 16 months. There were some good times and some hard times but unfortunately, Ian lost his job towards the end. I left three or four weeks later because the club had asked me to look after things for a period of time.

"We had some terrific players- Ian signed Mick Gooding for about £65,000. He went on to do great things with the club. We had people like Steve Francis, Lindon Jones, Steve Richardson, Martin Hicks and Keith McPherson- who we brought in from Northampton.

"We had loads of characters in the building and it was a really positive time- it was good for me because it gave me experience and I’m grateful for Ian bringing me in. New ownership had come in and I felt it was best for me to leave at that time."

(Image: pa)

Taking in spells with the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Manchester City and the Wales national side in the intervening 19 years, it was not until 2019 that Niedzwiecki returned- assisting Mark Bowen when the Welshman took over from Jose Gomes.

Leading the club into an outside chance of the play-offs in 2019/20, the whole world was rocked in the spring of 2020 as Covid-19 hit British shores.

"Mark got the job and it was great- I really enjoyed it," Eddie explained.  "We were second-bottom when he came and ended the season 14th. We felt like we did a really good job stabilising the club and getting it out of the situation it was in.

"Covid, as a coach and as a club, is one of the most difficult times I’ve had in football. You could only bring the players in in batches of five and you had certain areas where they had to be trained individually. There were five of us doing different sessions out on the training ground and after 15-20 minutes we would switch over, so we were never in contact.

"It was a really stressful period for everybody, but I thought we handled it very well. It was very demanding because you had to clean the equipment, but we got through it and all credit to everyone at the club, and in football, because it was a very difficult time."

Just days away from the start of the new season, Dai Yongge took the decision to remove Bowen and bring in Serbian Veljko Paunovic.

Niedzwiecki remained until Bowen was appointed at AFC Wimbledon, following the Norwich City legend to Plough Lane for a less-than-impressive spell during which the Wombles were relegated.

Fast-forward just three months and after Paul Ince had steered the club away from relegation, a backroom reshuffle saw the return of Bowen, Niedzwiecki and the arrival of Brian Carey.

A different role to usual, Niedzwiecki admitted it took a bit of time to get used to, but went to explain how he enjoyed his new developmental role.

"It took me a while to get used to it. At that time, Paul Ince came in with Alex Rae and Tony Warner. My remit was to try and prepare players as best I could, between the Under-18s and Under-23s, for first-team football. I just get on with things and try to improve the individual as much as I can.

"Any time I’m on the training ground, that is my workplace and like my living room at home.  It’s like when you’re a goalie, your penalty box is your living room at home. I tried to support Paul and the rest of the guys when needed."

January 2024 saw Niedzwiecki and Andrew Sparkes depart the club due to financial issues and has left the highly-experienced coach out of the footballing world for the first time in nearly 50 years.

What's next? Only time will tell.

"It’s 48 years now I’ve been in football, since walking into Wrexham as a young lad, and I’ve seen many things. Football changes," he concluded. "For me, I still feel I’ve got things I can offer so we will wait and see. Of course I miss it, but I’m trying to get on with my life."