'Kenny Dalglish is a hero' - LFC legends hail The King

A special ceremony will be staged at Anfield on Friday afternoon, in the presence of the man himself, to mark an historic occasion as the Centenary Stand begins a new era bearing his name.

To kick off our extensive coverage of the renaming and unveiling of the Kenny Dalglish Stand, Liverpoolfc.com spoke to a group of Reds greats who understand exactly what the former player and manager has contributed to the club during the past four decades...

Steven Gerrard: "Kenny Dalglish is a hero to me and my family, a role model who I have always looked up to and tried to follow. A man who deserves the title 'King Kenny'."

Phil Thompson: "It is so fitting that Kenny Dalglish is having a stand named after him, and it is not before time as far as I'm concerned. I think we as a football club have lagged behind in honouring our greats, the real greats. The likes of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, we waited until they were no longer with us to honour them in some capacity. I think it's great, right and honourable for our owners to name a stand in honour of a man who I believe is probably our greatest ever player."

Alan Kennedy: "It's very fitting that Kenny Dalglish is having a stand named after him and it is richly deserved. It has been a long time coming but Kenny is worth every penny of having a stand named after him. He was a great, great player and ended up being the manager, which is sometimes a difficult transition to make, but he adapted to it superbly, winning the double in his first season. Kenny has always had his heart with Liverpool Football Club and has always, for me, put the club first."

Ronnie Whelan: "This is only what Kenny deserves for what he has done for this football club. He achieved unbelievable success as a player and manager. Kenny Dalglish is one of the best players ever and also one of the best managers ever, in my opinion. When I first joined Liverpool, people like Kenny were the ones I always looked up to, because of his will to win and the way he would always prepare properly for matches. I learned so much off Kenny."

Gary Gillespie: "It's a fantastic honour for Kenny and very much deserved. When you look at the other big clubs, the likes of Manchester United, it's always something they seem to do by naming a stand after one of their heroes. It's been a long time coming really when you consider not just what he achieved on the field and as a manager, but the way he and his family have handled themselves around Liverpool. That's what makes Kenny that little bit more special than the other players, Steven Gerrard would come into that category as well. I think this is well overdue and I wish him all the best on the day."

Gary McAllister: "First and foremost, this is thoroughly deserved. From a personal point of view, being a Scotsman in my era I grew up when Kenny Dalglish was the top man at Liverpool, the top man for Scotland and a great player for Celtic before he came to Merseyside. Kenny was my hero and he was somebody I looked up to. Kenny has been at Liverpool through the good and the bad times. Kenny and his wife Marina were incredible during those tough times, namely Hillsborough."

Roy Evans: "It will be a special day for Kenny. He has been a great servant to this football club for many years, both as a player and a manager. He is also one of the fans' all-time favourite players so I think it's great this stand is being named after Kenny. I'll be there at Anfield with a lot of other people and I just hope it is going to be a nice day for Kenny."

Terry McDermott: "No-one deserves this more than Kenny Dalglish. He has done everything for Liverpool Football Club over the last 40-odd years, not just as a player but as a manager. If you look at the way he conducted himself after Hillsborough and his family as well, it takes some doing that. Kenny can be an awkward little sod but also he has a heart of gold. He thoroughly deserves to have a stand named after him and maybe in a few more years they might name the stadium after him."

Jan Molby: "It's absolutely wonderful news. Kenny has done it all at Liverpool Football Club. He is one of the best players the club has ever had and a mighty fine manager as well with a lot of success. Congratulations Kenny."