This has clearly been a big 24 hours in the history of Liverpool FC. Can you start by telling us why the decision has been made to part company with Kenny Dalglish and who has made the decision?
I think to understand it you have to think back over the last 18 months and look at Kenny's time here. At the time he came back the club was in a very difficult situation, in a freefall and all over the place for lots of reasons and I think if you look at what he achieved and what he brought to that in galvanising everyone and bringing everyone together, it was the right guy at the right time for that and perhaps the only guy at that time. We've worked with Kenny and we've got ourselves in a fantastic position now in terms of a foundation to take the club forward. The owners have talked, and I have talked a lot myself about moving forward, and I think we felt that based on where we are both as a sound footing for the business and a sound footing for the football club, the next most important thing going forward is results. When we looked across this season particularly, I don't think we felt that results were good enough. That in itself then asks a question. The board looked at that. It wasn't an easy decision, it was a well considered process and ultimately the decision was made that based on those results it was the right time to make a change. That's the way you have to move forward.
Speculation was rife about Kenny's future since it became common knowledge that he'd travelled to Boston after the Swansea game. Why did you allow the rumours to build and build without saying anything official?
The club's renowned for what we call 'the Liverpool way' and about doing things in the proper way and doing them behind closed doors, so to speak. This was never about a particular game or a particular incident, this was about results over a longer period. Then it was about consulting with Kenny and understanding his view on things before you get to that final decision. We were never going to and never would talk about or react to rumours until we had a decision, until we knew what the situation was, and that's today. Having spent time with Kenny myself yesterday and having talked through all of the detail, today was the right time to make the announcement.
Was Kenny offered an alternative job within the Club?
The discussion was abouttoday, about the process now and about the change. Kenny is such an important part of the fabric of this football club, that was the case before, it was the case while he was here and it will be the case afterwards, but it was about today and about where we are today, not about the future.
How did Kenny take the news?
Obviously disappointed and I think lots of people will be disappointed. What I can say though is that people who know Kenny, people who've met Kenny and people who've seen Kenny will know that one of the things that's great about him is the type of person he is. As our manager, as a former manager and as a former player, he always acts with dignity and he accepted it in a dignified way. That's played out in his comments in the statement we issued. He felt we all acted with dignity and that's the way it should be because this is Liverpool Football Club. He's a great person, this is a great club and it was handled in the right way, but as to how he feels about it, that'd be a question for Kenny I guess.
Looking back, do you think it was a mistake to appoint Kenny and how would you describe his time in charge?
It absolutely wasn't a mistake and couldn't be further from it, to be honest. If you look back across that period, let's be clear - we asked Kenny to come back, he didn't ask for the job. We very much went and asked him to take the position, to come back and to help and he did all of those things. He always said 'if I can be of any help, I will'. He really was the catalyst to everything we have now to go forward. He was the person who galvanised everyone around such a difficult time, he brought people together, he brought the club, the fans and the players together. There were issues all over the place and in bringing all of those together he cemented us all with this unity to work together. That's such a legacy for him to leave here today. I don't believe there's anybody else who could have done that and Liverpool fans and Liverpool Football Club will always be grateful to Kenny for that, but like any plan there are different people at different times along that journey. Kenny has done a fantastic thing in his part of it and we move to the next chapter. He'll always be a part of it and he'll always be a part of the club.
It's always a big decision to change the manager of a football club, even more so when that person is such an icon of the Club - was it a case of sentiment and emotion having to be put to one side in this instance?
Yes, it is. Of course those things are in your mind, who Kenny is and what he represents, but at the same time we have a duty to do what's best at each time and at each turning point in the journey for the football club. We do have to put that aside, but only in terms of the decision and where we go, not in the sense of how we treat that person and how we come to this decision. We believe it's the right decision at the right time for Liverpool Football Club and for that reason it was done.
At the moment we have no first team manager and no Director of Football - are we already at a disadvantage to other clubs in terms of planning for next season?
No. A few people have asked that question saying 'is this Liverpool in some form of disarray?' I'd actually say it's completely the opposite. There is a plan, there's been a plan over the last few months of 'what is the next step, how do we go forward, what is the right way forward for Liverpool Football Club?' Of course you don't go out and tell the world what that plan is, you just act upon it and as I said before, we often do these things behind closed doors. It's about putting all the parts of that together and then unveiling them at the appropriate times, but there is certainly no concern at my level or the board that we're in disarray. We're making the decisions we're making and we're doing the things we're doing because they're part of a bigger plan to take the football club forward. That may seem like a concern for some people, for our fans and others, maybe for some of our staff, but they have to understand you have to develop a plan, implement a plan and execute it and that's all going on in the background. As and when it's appropriate to talk in detail about any part of it, that's absolutely what we'll do.
If players become available in the transfer market now who could improve our squad, are we in a position to do deals for them?
Absolutely. It's a big machine that works around the acquisition of players at Liverpool and the fact that today we don't have a Director of Football or a manager, doesn't mean any of that stops. There's a huge team of people involved in scouting and analysis and that's all still going on. Clearly the appointment of the manager going forward is vital to that process as well. It won't stop us, we'll move it along but we'll make the key decisions when that person's in place.
What is the process now in the recruitment of a new manager?
It's essentially the same as it's always been at Liverpool Football Club. Whether it was the board of Liverpool recruiting Bill Shankly many years ago or the recruitment of Kenny Dalglish 18 months ago, it's the same process. The board will create a criteria of what that manager should look like and we'll match that with the best possible candidates and make a decision on that basis.
When do LFC hope to have a new man in place?
That will be dictated by finding the right candidate of the right quality. What we want is the best, what we don't want is to choose quickly or choose because there's a time pressure. It'll be about finding the right person who can do the best job for Liverpool Football Club.
Fans on the outside have been reading about a number of big changes over recent weeks with many people in key positions leaving the Club - what do you say to those people who say we're a club in crisis?
As I said earlier, I can understand absolutely why certain people might think that from the outside, but we internally and as a board, with the owners, have a very clear vision of where we want to go. As a business and as a board you have to develop that plan, you have to implement that plan and that doesn't always mean talking about it in the media or even talking about it to staff internally. It's about carrying that out in the right way and the right way is about finding the right people. Some people have left but some people will come, and that's really a process we'll manage in a proper way, in a dignified way and in a way that is right for the football club, but the solution will absolutely be the right one.
Finally, despite his departure, how would you describe Kenny Dalglish?
There is so much to say about Kenny. I think he's done so much at this football club, for this football club. He's one of those people that you really can't match. There's really nobody quite like Kenny in lots of different ways. I remember watching him here as a player myself, we remember his time as a manager first time around and this time around, and in each case he has created some kind of legacy and some kind of memory for everybody that's just outstanding. I don't see this period as any different. As I said before, I genuinely believe Kenny was the only person who could have helped bring this back together 18 months ago and over the last 18 months, and for that reason he leaves another lasting memory at Liverpool Football Club which everybody connected with the club should be extremely grateful.
I think to understand it you have to think back over the last 18 months and look at Kenny's time here. At the time he came back the club was in a very difficult situation, in a freefall and all over the place for lots of reasons and I think if you look at what he achieved and what he brought to that in galvanising everyone and bringing everyone together, it was the right guy at the right time for that and perhaps the only guy at that time. We've worked with Kenny and we've got ourselves in a fantastic position now in terms of a foundation to take the club forward. The owners have talked, and I have talked a lot myself about moving forward, and I think we felt that based on where we are both as a sound footing for the business and a sound footing for the football club, the next most important thing going forward is results. When we looked across this season particularly, I don't think we felt that results were good enough. That in itself then asks a question. The board looked at that. It wasn't an easy decision, it was a well considered process and ultimately the decision was made that based on those results it was the right time to make a change. That's the way you have to move forward.
Speculation was rife about Kenny's future since it became common knowledge that he'd travelled to Boston after the Swansea game. Why did you allow the rumours to build and build without saying anything official?
The club's renowned for what we call 'the Liverpool way' and about doing things in the proper way and doing them behind closed doors, so to speak. This was never about a particular game or a particular incident, this was about results over a longer period. Then it was about consulting with Kenny and understanding his view on things before you get to that final decision. We were never going to and never would talk about or react to rumours until we had a decision, until we knew what the situation was, and that's today. Having spent time with Kenny myself yesterday and having talked through all of the detail, today was the right time to make the announcement.
Was Kenny offered an alternative job within the Club?
The discussion was abouttoday, about the process now and about the change. Kenny is such an important part of the fabric of this football club, that was the case before, it was the case while he was here and it will be the case afterwards, but it was about today and about where we are today, not about the future.
How did Kenny take the news?
Obviously disappointed and I think lots of people will be disappointed. What I can say though is that people who know Kenny, people who've met Kenny and people who've seen Kenny will know that one of the things that's great about him is the type of person he is. As our manager, as a former manager and as a former player, he always acts with dignity and he accepted it in a dignified way. That's played out in his comments in the statement we issued. He felt we all acted with dignity and that's the way it should be because this is Liverpool Football Club. He's a great person, this is a great club and it was handled in the right way, but as to how he feels about it, that'd be a question for Kenny I guess.
Looking back, do you think it was a mistake to appoint Kenny and how would you describe his time in charge?
It absolutely wasn't a mistake and couldn't be further from it, to be honest. If you look back across that period, let's be clear - we asked Kenny to come back, he didn't ask for the job. We very much went and asked him to take the position, to come back and to help and he did all of those things. He always said 'if I can be of any help, I will'. He really was the catalyst to everything we have now to go forward. He was the person who galvanised everyone around such a difficult time, he brought people together, he brought the club, the fans and the players together. There were issues all over the place and in bringing all of those together he cemented us all with this unity to work together. That's such a legacy for him to leave here today. I don't believe there's anybody else who could have done that and Liverpool fans and Liverpool Football Club will always be grateful to Kenny for that, but like any plan there are different people at different times along that journey. Kenny has done a fantastic thing in his part of it and we move to the next chapter. He'll always be a part of it and he'll always be a part of the club.
It's always a big decision to change the manager of a football club, even more so when that person is such an icon of the Club - was it a case of sentiment and emotion having to be put to one side in this instance?
Yes, it is. Of course those things are in your mind, who Kenny is and what he represents, but at the same time we have a duty to do what's best at each time and at each turning point in the journey for the football club. We do have to put that aside, but only in terms of the decision and where we go, not in the sense of how we treat that person and how we come to this decision. We believe it's the right decision at the right time for Liverpool Football Club and for that reason it was done.
At the moment we have no first team manager and no Director of Football - are we already at a disadvantage to other clubs in terms of planning for next season?
No. A few people have asked that question saying 'is this Liverpool in some form of disarray?' I'd actually say it's completely the opposite. There is a plan, there's been a plan over the last few months of 'what is the next step, how do we go forward, what is the right way forward for Liverpool Football Club?' Of course you don't go out and tell the world what that plan is, you just act upon it and as I said before, we often do these things behind closed doors. It's about putting all the parts of that together and then unveiling them at the appropriate times, but there is certainly no concern at my level or the board that we're in disarray. We're making the decisions we're making and we're doing the things we're doing because they're part of a bigger plan to take the football club forward. That may seem like a concern for some people, for our fans and others, maybe for some of our staff, but they have to understand you have to develop a plan, implement a plan and execute it and that's all going on in the background. As and when it's appropriate to talk in detail about any part of it, that's absolutely what we'll do.
If players become available in the transfer market now who could improve our squad, are we in a position to do deals for them?
Absolutely. It's a big machine that works around the acquisition of players at Liverpool and the fact that today we don't have a Director of Football or a manager, doesn't mean any of that stops. There's a huge team of people involved in scouting and analysis and that's all still going on. Clearly the appointment of the manager going forward is vital to that process as well. It won't stop us, we'll move it along but we'll make the key decisions when that person's in place.
What is the process now in the recruitment of a new manager?
It's essentially the same as it's always been at Liverpool Football Club. Whether it was the board of Liverpool recruiting Bill Shankly many years ago or the recruitment of Kenny Dalglish 18 months ago, it's the same process. The board will create a criteria of what that manager should look like and we'll match that with the best possible candidates and make a decision on that basis.
When do LFC hope to have a new man in place?
That will be dictated by finding the right candidate of the right quality. What we want is the best, what we don't want is to choose quickly or choose because there's a time pressure. It'll be about finding the right person who can do the best job for Liverpool Football Club.
Fans on the outside have been reading about a number of big changes over recent weeks with many people in key positions leaving the Club - what do you say to those people who say we're a club in crisis?
As I said earlier, I can understand absolutely why certain people might think that from the outside, but we internally and as a board, with the owners, have a very clear vision of where we want to go. As a business and as a board you have to develop that plan, you have to implement that plan and that doesn't always mean talking about it in the media or even talking about it to staff internally. It's about carrying that out in the right way and the right way is about finding the right people. Some people have left but some people will come, and that's really a process we'll manage in a proper way, in a dignified way and in a way that is right for the football club, but the solution will absolutely be the right one.
Finally, despite his departure, how would you describe Kenny Dalglish?
There is so much to say about Kenny. I think he's done so much at this football club, for this football club. He's one of those people that you really can't match. There's really nobody quite like Kenny in lots of different ways. I remember watching him here as a player myself, we remember his time as a manager first time around and this time around, and in each case he has created some kind of legacy and some kind of memory for everybody that's just outstanding. I don't see this period as any different. As I said before, I genuinely believe Kenny was the only person who could have helped bring this back together 18 months ago and over the last 18 months, and for that reason he leaves another lasting memory at Liverpool Football Club which everybody connected with the club should be extremely grateful.
