Past managersRonnie Moran

Moran, who had made 379 appearances for Liverpool as a player and won the league title, did not have to think for too long when offered that chance to transition into a backroom staff role, adding his experienced – and famously loud – voice to the chorus of men carefully making history at Anfield.

He would become a pillar of the famous Boot Room, the special hub of football intelligence where the methods to make the club a dominant force in England and Europe were discussed, agreed and actioned.

Moran kept and stored comprehensive diaries, which held the details of matches, training sessions, injuries and much more; 'bibles' that could be referred back to for learned wisdom.

And from the off, he demanded the very highest standards.

The merest sign of a drop from the level required of those trusted to represent the club he loved would result in firm, barked reminders served in the sharpest language from the sideline – always designed to ensure the Reds had the edge.

Wins and successes, however grand or important, would be quickly consigned to history. A triumphant end to one season was simply considered the beginning of the work towards the next one.

"I won a few things with them and had a little bit of success," he said. "You just think, 'Well, I've done that, can I do it again?'"

Players would come and go, managers would pass on the baton, but Moran was a constant.

From Shankly to Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan to Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Roy Evans, he was there, Liverpool's 'sergeant major' coaxing the best out of everybody around him.

Moran stepped into the Liverpool dugout himself in the early 1990s, too.

He was installed caretaker and then acting manager following Dalglish's shock resignation in February 1991, leading the team for 10 matches until the permanent appointment of Souness.

A year later, Moran was called on to deputise for Souness in the closing weeks of the 1991-92 campaign as the boss underwent heart surgery – and proudly led the team out at Wembley for the 1992 FA Cup final victory against Sunderland.

He entered retirement six years later as one of the most successful and respected coaches in the history of English football.