Houllier: Stevie can be a great boss
Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has backed Steven Gerrard to make a 'great manager' when he brings his playing career to an end.
The captain will call time on his 17-year spell as a first-team regular at Anfield at the end of the season but won't be hanging up his boots just yet, having agreed a move to LA Galaxy in the United States.
When Gerrard does eventually decide to bring the curtain down, however, Houllier believes he has all the attributes to make the move into management.
The French boss expects the leadership skills that prompted him to hand Stevie the captaincy in 2003 to transfer seamlessly into the dugout.
"He will make a great manager because he has always put the team first," Houllier told BBC Sport.
"He has got everything it takes to think about the team, the club and the development of others.
"He is a natural born leader, a very inspirational leader. He is somebody you want to follow.
"The fans will miss him. He is a leader and has always done that."
Houllier, who won a string of major honours during a six-year stay on Merseyside, also recalled first seeing Gerrard in action for one of the club's youth sides.
The 67-year-old says he knew immediately that he was witnessing a potential future great.
"I went to watch the U19s and Steven, who was part of the U17 team at the time, was playing to help them out in terms of numbers," he added.
"He was running from box to box, he was tackling and shouting at his teammates. He was already behaving like a leader.
"The next day I asked him to come and join the pros."