Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Jamie Carragher have paid tribute to Gary Ablett, after the former Red passed away on Sunday night.
Gerrard said: "First and foremost he was a really good guy, a terrific servant to the Club as a player and as a coach and it's a really sad day for everyone at Liverpool, but the people who matter most in this situation are his family and our thoughts are with them.
"I'm sure everyone at Everton speaks the same as everyone at Liverpool does and that speaks volumes for Gary, the respect he has at both places. He was a top guy and a top professional in the way he went about his work. He was enthusiastic and all the players who worked under him for the reserves and the first team certainly learned a lot off him.
"I only worked with Gary in certain sessions, but I could see straight away that he was a very good coach. What I remember from Gary was how he conducted himself; he always had a smile on his face and was enthusiastic around the place and that rubbed off on me personally and the rest of the players."
Carragher added: "He was a great person. I knew him when he was here as a coach and he did a fantastic job here, winning the league in his second season. He had a great rapport with the lads, particularly the younger ones.
"There are not many people who can cross the divide between Everton and Liverpool like he did, both as a player and coach; no one at either Club has ever had a bad word to say about him and that's evidence of the high esteem he's held in.
"You can see what a great coach he was from the response he got from the players and the job he did here; we took him from Everton so that says a lot about him and how good he was.
"When you speak to the younger lads like Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing and see them in the first team now, you see the impact he's had on their careers and he should take a great deal of credit for their development, along with the staff in the Academy for how these young lads have progressed.
"He was a great player for Liverpool and for Everton; he won the FA Cup with both teams. That will probably never happen again and that's a great achievement. He played in a great Liverpool side with the likes of Barnes, Beardsley and Aldridge and to be involved in that was something special. When he went to Everton he was part of the great side they had there with Joe Royle and the dogs of war team.
"He was a great bloke and he always had a smile on his face; that's how I'll remember him, great to be around. Even when you'd see him after he had the illness, he still had that bubbliness about him, trying to keep spirits high. That's a great testimony to him as a person. He'll be sorely missed by everyone but most of all his family."
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/stevie-and-carra-s-ablett-tribute
