Text & video: BR on Hillsborough

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First of all can you give us your reaction to Wednesday's events?

Like the rest of the country I was very happy for the families and the survivors and all the people who have supported the group over the last 23 years. I was obviously shocked as well by some of the findings in the report. But the most important people in all of this are the families that have suffered for such a long period of time. It's been incredible what they have had to go through and I remember I was a 16-year-old boy in Northern Ireland at the time of the disaster and a couple of months later I left to come to England. And now I sit here today as a 39-year-old and the families have only just got justice. And it's taken all that time, which is absolutely incredible really. My respect goes out to everyone involved in that process over the 23 long, arduous years and hopefully they find justice out of yesterday.

As someone who has come in from outside the club, did you have any preconceived ideas about Hillsborough and what impact did yesterday have on them?

Well there's no doubt there was propaganda at the time. If you were outside of Liverpool, as a city and as a people, there were certainly seeds that were planted throughout the country and the world. And it's the people who have suffered down the years, who have had to contend with that and to fight against that sort of relentlessness. But certainly for me, in coming to the city and being around the people, being at the vigil last night was emotional. This is a city that you really take to your hearts straight away because of the people and their honesty and their love of life and the support that they give you. I've met with Margaret Aspinall and Jenni Hicks since I've been here and I've had a shortened version of what they have been through. It's been remarkable really for all the families.

What do you think the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report has done for the standing not just of the families but of the fans of Liverpool Football Club?

For me it's bigger than that, it's for life. Morally and socially you now look at decisions that have been made against people. I think that the inspiring effect that it has had, on me alone and certainly for the football club, is that you must fight. There's a cause there and whatever that cause is, if you feel strongly enough about it you must be relentless in your campaign and your fight to make a wrong right. And these people have done that. They have suffered. What they have been through none of us could begin to imagine. We will have all suffered death in our families in our lives but to lose your son, daughter, brother or sister and to have a campaign against that, you can never begin to imagine what that must feel like. So I think everyone will draw inspiration from how hard they have fought and the time and effort that goes in to protecting their loved ones. It's not just a message for the football club and the city; it's a message for the world.

What do you think should happen now?

I'm only here to talk about the families and the support everyone has given them and I think the next steps will be their decision. They will have gained some sort of justification for the last 23 years out of yesterday's report and findings and I'm sure they will know whatever next steps are to be taken.

What role then do you see for yourself and Liverpool Football Club if the families of the 96 continue their justice campaign?

The same as it has always been. I remember Kenny Dalglish and all the players when I was sat as a 16-year-old watching the funerals (of the 96) and watching the players attend and to this day it's still the very same. We will play an integral part in the support and the care of the families, of the people and the survivors and that never changes. They are a very important part of the family here and the club.

With the scenes that you saw yesterday, does it make you reassess the enormity of the responsibilities of the job that you have as Liverpool manager?

No, it only increases my pride in managing the club. I was aware of the task well before I came here. I repeat this: Liverpool is an institution. It is a club that is worldwide and so I was fully aware of the task. What my time here and especially last night has given me is even greater pride and responsibility, drive and determination to bring social happiness to the people who have suffered for so long. That was my recollection of standing there last night and being at the vigil. It involved all sorts of emotions. There were mothers there who have fought for their kids and for the names of their families for so many years and there's a pride in being the manager of such an iconic club. I must pay respect to the Everton supporters who were at the vigil last night as well. This is a very unique city - there's not too many cities where the supporters are such rivals but come together. This is the type of city Liverpool is, it is very much one. When they are down and they are struggling, they come together no matter what team they support. I had great pride standing there watching last night.

What do you think football can do now, to try and make this a starting point for change? What can it do to eradicate some of the chants (about footballing disasters) that we hear?

I think the report at the time has created big change within football. If you look back to years gone by when there was fencing, there's no doubt that the game is now a much safer place to come. As football as in life, there are always developments and always improvements and whether that's socially or professionally, it's something that we'll always look to involve ourselves in. I think with football there are always issues that will come up and that we can always be better, but as a football club and one of the leading clubs in the world, we know we have that responsibility. In terms of the chants, I speak as a human being and I never like to hear anything like that, whatever clubs it is, that associates people and other people's tragedies and death. Unfortunately you have a very, very small percentage of idiots at every club that will always try and smear a club's reputation. So, of course, it's obvious that these are certainly chants and whatnot that no-one wants to hear about any club. Unfortunately there is that small percentage that will always disappoint but let's hope that we can move on from this and everyone learns from this whole process.

Are your feelings being reflected in the dressing room? I looked at the faces on the young players at the vigil who weren't born when the disaster took place, have you managed to gauge their reaction?

Most people who come into here, what attracts them is the history. And if you're clever and bright enough, you will look into the history of the club and a big part of that is this disaster which was, for Liverpool and football as a whole, a monumental disaster. Everyone that has come into here understands the role; whether they are a youth team player or a first-team player or a coach or manager. Everyone understands the magnitude of what has happened and they are well briefed on that history. We had a minute's silence yesterday on the field and I was looking in the eyes and the faces of the ones who have just come in and they were not bemused by it - they understood why they were in silence. Part of being a player, manager, coach or supporter here is understanding the history.