MARK LAWRENSON: Sammy Lee a great choice for Liverpool

May 20 2008 By Mark Lawrenson

Rafael Benitez welcomes back Sammy Lee to Liverpool's Melwood training ground _320

SAMMY LEE is the perfect choice to be Rafael Benitez's number two - and I'm delighted he is back at Liverpool.

The are two main reasons for this. The first centres around his qualities as a coach, which are so good Trevor Brooking once made him the FA’s man to coach the coaches.

He gets players to do their jobs both in training and on the tactical side. But he’s not just someone who concentrates on the team, he will work one on one just to help somebody out because that’s all he wants to do.

I remember some of the Bolton lads talking about how he was the first on the training ground in the morning and the last to leave it because he was always staying behind to work with someone and give them some extra help.

It’s that kind of enthusiasm which can only have a positive effect on the Liverpool squad.

But the second reason why he is the right appointment is because of what a character like Sammy represents.

He has Liverpool Football Club at his heart. Those kind of people have been sadly lacking during this past season of off-field turmoil so this sends out the right message.

The supporters like the fact that the backroom staff has someone that has the club in his blood – it’s a hark-back to the old Anfield boot room mentality.

On a personal note, I’ve know Sammy for many years since we played in the same Liverpool team and it’s no surprise he has made such a good coach.

He was never really a leader in terms of his personality, but he was a great leader by example.

The key to Sammy’s game was he knew what he was there to do – he was a continuity player in our team. Get it, give it, get it back, give it again.

When you played with him you could close your eyes and pass to him because you always knew where he was going to be. He had that discipline and awareness of his role and he has since successfully drummed that ideal into the players he has worked with. He also has the pedigree. Playing for England, winning European Cups, coaching with England. Many of the players will know his methods and Benitez knows he has someone whose opinion he can trust.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say Sammy was born to be a number two though.

I think it was always going to be a tough ask for whoever took over from Sam Allardyce at Bolton and it didn’t work out.

When you’re in charge of everything and all the other issues that come with managing, it can detract from what you’re really good at and I think being in that position at the Reebok had a detrimental on how good a coach he is.

At the end of the day, there aren’t many managerial jobs about and it was always going to be easier for Sammy to take up another coaching role before he considered going back into management.

Realistically, he would be taking charge of a team in the Championship now and someone like him needs to be working at the highest level, whatever the role.

So when he gets an offer to do that at a club he would die for, it was always going to be a no- brainer – both for him and Benitez.

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