Heighway: I still live by Shankly's values
Steve Heighway was a student at Warwick University when Bill Shankly signed him for Liverpool - and during the years that followed, Shankly taught him more about life than any lecturer could.
Heighway's name has been immortalised in one of the Kop's most famous chants, which rings out loud and proud at every Reds game, in homage to the winger's lightning-quick feet and expert control.
Recently, Heighway dropped by our studios to record a fascinating edition of '60 Minutes With...' which will be aired on LFC TV in the new year. LFCTV Online subscribers can watch a teaser below.
And so to tie in with our Shankly Week coverage, we asked Heighway to go back to the moment the Scot arrived at his student halls in April 1970, to make him an offer that was beyond his wildest dreams.
"Shankly had an enormous impact on my life," said Heighway. "He still does in many ways, because since 1981, I've been coaching.
"I've been doing it for over 30 years and the things I say to players, the values I instil in players and the standards I demand, the ethics and morality of the game, I picked up from Shanks.
"The way I believe the game should be played is pure Shanks, the way I believe you should conduct yourself as an individual within the game is pure Shanks. So he had an enormous impact on me.
"I was at university at Warwick and I was playing for Skelmersdale when I first met him. Skelmersdale's chairman told me that Liverpool were on the way down with Bill Shankly to see me.
"So we met at my student house, which was like a converted hotel. There were 45 of us in a 25-room building and that's where I met Shankly. He arrived around supper time and it was totally out of the blue.
"He was more or less saying that he needed to build a new team."
Shankly's first great side, which consisted of the likes of Ian St John, Roger Hunt and Ron Yeats, had won two league titles and the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history.
However, Liverpool were, by the time Shankly turned to Heighway, four years into what would become a seven-year trophyless stint.
Shankly knew he needed to add new blood to the side - and he had earmarked Heighway as someone who could help kick-start another push for glory.
"He was talking about [replacing] players who were, of course, stars in my eyes," explained Heighway. "Shanks was saying, 'He's finished, he's finished, he's finished'.
"And I was thinking - these are household names, these are great players he was talking about. And he was suggesting it would be a good time to come to Liverpool Football Club.
"It was very low-key, though. It lasted for about half an hour. I was offered a contract for one year at £35 a week. I said I'd think about it! Which totally blew his mind, I'm told. In the car on the way back to Liverpool they were apparently saying, 'who does he think he is?'
"But I called my dad and my family and we talked about it. I called Liverpool back a week later and said I'd sign for £40 a week. They said they'd call me back!"
Shankly knew Heighway had the talent to be one of the cornerstones of his second great side, and the Scot was proved right as the winger dazzled audiences the length of the country.
After four seasons together, during which time the UEFA Cup, a league title and an FA Cup were added to the Anfield trophy cabinet, Shankly dropped the bombshell that he was to retire.
"I don't remember where I was when I heard the news," said Heighway.
"I remember being devastated by it. I had enormous respect for him - and the fact that I knew he had this soft spot for me just meant that, on a personal level, I was disappointed.
"I couldn't quite see the reasons for it. I was one of those who thought, let's keep this going now that we've won all this - let's keep everything going. Then suddenly, your leader has announced his retirement.
"After that shock, it was a case of - who's likely to come in? I remember sitting in the dressing room thinking: will it be Brian Clough or somebody like that?
"Maybe Clough won't fancy any of us and we'll all have to find a new club. I wasn't just a professional footballer, I was a Liverpool footballer. That, for me, was the definition of being a professional footballer.
"I didn't have experience of the industry, so I didn't want to go anywhere else. I don't know how I would have handled that. So it was a very unsettling time. On a personal level, you worried about Shanks. And then you had the worry about who they were going to bring in.
"But there's no doubt he was a great man and he had an enormous impact on my life."