St John calls for British manager

The following story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club:

Liverpool legend Ian St John is calling on the Anfield board to appoint a British manager.

The ex-Scotland international believes it is time for the Reds to look closer to home after six-year spells for Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez.

St John told BBC Radio Merseyside: "Personally I hope we get a British manager. We've had over 10 years of foreign managers.

"Take away the night in Istanbul and the whole club seems to have changed."

St John, 71, was signed by legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly in 1961.

He went on to spend 10 seasons on Merseyside, scoring the winning goal in the 1965 FA Cup final.

The Scot believes it is time for change of culture at Anfield: "The way the team had been playing in the last couple of seasons I just felt we had hit the buffers.

"The football that we always went to Anfield to watch was mundane.

"You would get Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres adding a little bit of glamour to it, but other than that it just wasn't enjoyable."

After a successful career at Anfield, St John went on to become a household name to a new generation of football supporters, co-presenting the Saint & Greavsie programme on ITV with former Tottenham striker Jimmy Greaves.

He says it was right for the Liverpool board to call time on Benitez's tenure at Anfield: "Rafa can't really complain - he had six years and spent a lot of money, despite what everybody says.

"At the end of the six years he didn't have a squad strong enough to win the Premier League or to finish in the top four."

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.