Roy Evans offered a heartfelt and insightful reflection on the life and career of Ronnie Moran following the passing of the Liverpool legend on Wednesday morning.

Moran gave 49 years of impeccable service to the club in a variety of different roles, most notably player, captain, coach and caretaker manager.

His commitment, dedication and desire were the benchmark during a period that saw the Reds rise to the heights of English and European football.

Evans shared much of that time at Melwood and Anfield with Moran, and has shared his memories and appreciation of ‘Mr Liverpool’ in the interview below.

What was your reaction to the sad news of Ronnie’s passing?

We knew Ronnie wasn’t so well. We went to the launch of his book only a fortnight ago really and I was talking to his son Paul, who said he wasn’t very well. So, our condolences to his lovely wife Joyce, Paul, and the rest of the family. Obviously it’s a really sad loss for them. And a massive loss for Liverpool Football Club, a man who over more than 40 years was a massively key figure in the success we achieved over these years.

What are your memories of the first time you met Ronnie?

He probably shouted at me! That was the norm with Ronnie. You walk through the door at Liverpool and what you found with Ronnie was that yes, he would shout at you. But he shouted at you for your good, for your benefit. Occasionally he would pat you on the back, because he had a nice side about him as well. He just told the truth, he was so straightforward with what you did wrong and what you did right when he was talking to you as a player. On the coaching side, when I became that, he was so helpful in getting me into the coaching side of things and being helpful when you were working with players. Obviously we have had great people – Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Dalglish – and they’re known by everybody. This man worked with them all. I can’t see that if Ronnie Moran hadn’t been there we would have had the same success, because he was an instrumental figure in his own way. The Boot Room is a little room; it’s more about the people that worked in it and we were fortunate at that time that we had great people, all with different attitudes towards football and different ideas. You were always given a chance to voice your opinion. Ronnie’s was always there, Ronnie had a big opinion. Obviously the manager makes the final choice, but Ronnie was always massively instrumental in all those decisions that managers made. I can’t stress enough what a great man he has been for Liverpool Football Club and what he has done. It would be lovely for the younger fans to see what he was all about.

How did his approach differ with different players and people?

The nice thing about Ronnie is the fact that he didn’t pick and choose. If you were out of order, you got it – and you were kicked up the backside, you got a full blast, whether you were a young kid who just got there polishing the boots and not doing it right or you were a top player at the top end. Ronnie gave it out for a reason: because he wanted our club to be the best and he wanted the players to be the best that they were. It works in different ways; the rest of the staff were different and had different attitudes. Some put an arm round you and some kicked you up the backside. Ronnie was the sergeant major, Ronnie drilled everybody. If you were out of order and as footballers you are at different times, and obviously football is about opinions, but Ronnie wanted you to do it the way that was taught through Liverpool. If you stepped out of line, you got what you deserved. It wasn’t vindictive, it was what was needed. He got the best out of so many players over that period of time. I would like everybody to recognise what a great man he was for our football club.

Ian St John said he kept the ‘big heads’ – as he liked to call them – on the ground…

He did. The first team were always called the ‘big heads’. They fall out of order and sometimes they think they’re invincible. But if you’re going to have a little go at a young kid, it’s important in man-management skills that you have a go at somebody at the top end as well – because there’s no difference. If one makes a mistake, the other makes a mistake, they both need telling. And Ronnie had a way of doing that which frightened you to death sometimes, but at the same time was so beneficial and helpful in so many people’s careers.

We rightly talk about his aggression and keeping people in line. But tell us about his nice side…

He was a good guy at the end of the day. The way he talked to people and was aggressive sometimes was just Ronnie’s style. He was making sure that we didn’t have people who thought they were better than they were or got big-headed. He kept their feet on the ground to a man. But off the pitch and socially we had some great times and fun times. He had a great family; his wife Joyce is a great lady, his son Paul and the rest of the family we’ve come to know over the years with my family. We always used to laugh that Ronnie is probably the most feared man in football in many ways, by the players, but when he went home there was only one boss in his house and that was Joyce. She was one person who could keep him quiet. But, socially, once he came out of the football club and was at home he didn’t take it home with him – he was quite a quiet man really. But he made up for that when he came back to the club, that’s for sure.

He did every job, pretty much…

He did. He was a player as a young lad, and through all the coaching side of things at different levels. I think he was unfortunate not to be the actual manager; I know he stood in two or three times. Only the board can say why he never became the manager, but it never got him down. He just got on with his job. We were always taught, when I first took the job at Liverpool as a reserve-team coach: don’t ever look to try to take anybody else’s job. Do your own job and do it well. I learned that very early on and Ronnie was like that, he just got on with the job. It didn’t matter what his title was, he knew his role and what he wanted to do and what he wanted to achieve. I for one – and I’m sure Bob Paisley and Joe and Kenny and people like that – were grateful for the input he had. On the disciplinarian side, he was excellent; there’s always a need for that in sport, in football and in life. He was great at that side of it, but also on the football side he was brilliant as well. We’ve lost a great man. The older ones I’m sure will know, but if you’re an older fan and you’ve got younger kids who are interested, please tell them about Ronnie Moran. I hate the word ‘legend’ but if there was ever one, Ronnie Moran is.

How much does Ronnie mean to you personally?

When you work with a guy for that long… we weren’t socially good friends all the time, when we went out with the club and different things that was together. But in the daytime routines and the help he gave me, not only as a player but also as a coach in the early days. Ronnie had done the same thing as I did; he started as a player, but had a lot more games than I did at first-team level, then took the reserve team, took the first team, ran on the pitch with a sponge – we went through the same sort of journey. Overall, football-wise he was more successful in the playing side and right through his career as a coach Liverpool were massively successful. He didn’t always get the credit for that but he deserves a lot of it. He’d be the first to say the managers and other coaches deserve the credit, but we must remember that Ronnie Moran deserves the credit as well.

Finally, how should we now remember Ronnie going forward?

We should all think about him today. I’m sure he’d just want us to remember what he was and what he achieved for this football club. We don’t really go off on one about people, we worked with them all the time, but this man epitomises [everything]. He has just brought a book out and it’s called ‘Mr Liverpool’ – and if there’s anything that suits today it would be the title of that book. Ronnie Moran was ‘Mr Liverpool’ in what he’s achieved and how he helped other people achieve throughout the years.