sir kenny on jack

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Charlton.

The thoughts of the Dalglish family are with Jack’s family and friends.

He was a great football man, and to win the World Cup with England in 1966 would have been a highlight.

To do it with his brother, Sir Bobby, in the team would have made it all the more sweeter. Jack was a proper centre-half, and was one of the first to use set-pieces to his team’s advantage by getting on the end of headers and making life difficult for the goalkeeper.

He played in an iconic Leeds United team for a number of years and helped bring them some wonderful success.

He knew his role within that set-up under Don Revie to the letter.

Jack was an out-and-out winner as a player and was the same as a manager, transforming the Republic of Ireland into something special and very successful.

I was managing Liverpool at that time, and the Republic players we had – John Aldridge and Ray Houghton – spoke highly of Jack and loved being involved.

He made the players feel wanted, trusted them and treated them like adults.

He appeared to keep the game simple, give the players instructions and let them go out and get on with it.

It worked wonders, and there are great memories from that time.

I wasn’t in Jack’s company very often, but he was always excellent to be with and made everyone feel at ease.

He was really down to earth, had a real presence, was helpful and had a lovely manner about him.

He loved his fishing, and was the kind of guy I would have happily enjoyed socialising with, over a beer or a glass or wine.

He will be sorely missed, and is thoroughly deserving of all the tributes that have been paid to him.