Ronnie Moran - The Coach

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The Coach

Bill Shankly offered Ronnie Moran a job on the back room staff at Anfield in that glorious English summer of 1966. Moran had not featured in the first team the previous season, his playing career winding down in the face of injuries and fierce competition from local lad Gerry Byrne.

After mulling over the options of staying on as a rookie coach or perhaps extending his playing career further down the footballing ladder at a second or third division club, Moran agreed to give it a try. He had always wanted to stay in Liverpool and this was an ideal opportunity to move into a new career phase without having to uproot his home and family.

His brief was to look after the kids, helping out with the youth team boys and making regular appearances for the reserves. He finally retired from playing duties in 1968 and became a full time member of the coaching staff - one of Shankly's Boot Room team.

In 1971 he was appointed reserve team coach and quickly guided the Reds' second string to the Central League Championship. Moran had already become an integral member of the Boot Room when, in 1974, Shankly's shock resignation resulted in a reshuffuling of resources at the club.

With Bob Paisley becoming manager and Joe Fagan stepping up to assistant, Moran was promoted to the role of first team trainer. It was a position tailor made for him. His seargant major approach on the training ground was the perfect foil for the more understated style of messers Fagan and Paisley.

The decade between 1974 and 1984 was undoubtedly the greatest period in the history of the club. Four European Cups, eight league titles, one FA Cup, one UEFA Cup and four League Cups were claimed in that pulsating period when the Boot Room was at the height of it's powers.

The last year of that golden age, 1983-84, was piloted by Moran's great friend Joe Fagan. Fagan had succeeded Paisley as manager in the summer of 1983 and promptly guided the club to an unprecedented treble of League, European Cup and League Cup. Moran, now operating as assistant manager continued to do the invaluable job of keeping the feet of the club's star players firmly on the Melwood soil.

Joe Fagan's sad departure in the wake of the Heysel disaster in 1985 saw the dawning of a new era at Anfield. Kenny Dalglish was appointed player-manager and though the success story on the pitch rolled on for a further five years, a slow decline had imperceptibly stolen in on the club.

Further tragedy at Hillsborough in 1989, precipitated the stresses and strains on manager Dalglish to breaking point. When he sensationally announced his resignation as manager in 1991, Ronnie Moran was installed as the new boss.

Forty two years after joining the club as a callow apprentice, Ronnie Moran had reached the ultimate position. However, he immediately placed on record his unwillingness to take the job full-time. He would do the job in a 'caretaker' capacity until somebody else was appointed. In the event, he took the reins for just 10 games making way when Graeme Souness was duly appointed manager, rejoining the club from Glasgow Rangers.

Moran remained on the coaching staff through the turbulent years of the early '90s. Things were beginning to slide at Anfield under the stewardship of Souness, a man who had been one of the lynchpins of the great Bob Paisley teams some ten years earlier.

When Graeme Souness finally relinquished control in 1994, Moran again took temporary charge of the side, before handing over the position to another of his great Boot Room colleagues Roy Evans.

In a magazine interview published in 1996 Moran gave an insight into the footballing philosophy of the Boot Room.

"You will never have a team of 11 players who all play well all the time. It's more a case of maybe 8 or 9 playing well, while 2 or 3 have an off day. Those who don't have a good day will work hard and be helped by those other 8 or 9 players, because they know in the next game it might be them who don't play well and need the help. This was a philosophy preached by Shankly, Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish."

After a further four years of service under Evans Ronnie Moran announced his retirement from football in 1998.

"We realised we had let ourselves down at Wembley but what was there to say ? There was no point ranting and raving and arguing. It was not too dissimilar to when we won. Ronnie Moran walked into the dressing room and announced 'Pre season starts 16 July.'"

John Barnes ( referring to the Wimbledon F.A. Cup final, 1988 ).

"I don't think people should understimate Ronnie's contribution to what Liverpool has achieved. I certainly don't. He was never the one at the front getting the accolades, but he always had the respect of the players. He would invariably find some way of getting something extra out of a player..."

Kevin Keegan.

"Ronnie Moran is as big a name as any of the others. He was the driving force. He would bring you down to earth. He probably did more for me than any other person because I had him in the youth teams as a 15 year old. He'd bash into my head good habits all the time."

Phil Thompson.