Liverpool greats past and present paid tribute to former captain, coach and caretaker manager Ronnie Moran on Wednesday following his death aged 83.
“RIP Ronnie Moran,” former captain Steven Gerrard wrote on Instagram. “Gave me some great advice over the years. The reason our club has a fantastic history is because of people like him. My thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Moran spent his entire playing career at Liverpool between 1952 and 1968, making 379 appearances, and served as a coach under managers including Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish.  Known as ‘Bugsy’, he had two spells as caretaker manager during the early 1990s and had spent 49 years at the club by the time he retired in 1998. Ian Rush, Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer, tweeted: “It’s a sad day in Football! RIP Mr. Liverpool #RonnieMoran you will be greatly missed!”
Moran’s son, Paul, announced on Twitter that he had died yesterday following “a short illness”.
Born locally in Crosby, Moran joined Liverpool on a part-time basis in 1949 and became an ever-present at left-back under Shankly, winning two league titles and the FA Cup. 
Shankly then invited Moran to join Liverpool’s coaching staff and he became a member of the fabled Anfield Boot Room, the name given to the club’s coaching unit.
His time on the back-room staff coincided with the greatest period in the club’s history as Liverpool won 11 league titles and four European Cups.
“It should never be forgotten that without people like Ronnie it would not have been possible for us to achieve as much as we did,” Dalglish told the club website. “My respect and my admiration for him are absolute and there are countless others who feel the same way.”
Moran was twice called upon to become caretaker manager, following Dalglish’s resignation in 1991 and then during Graeme Souness’s recovery from major heart surgery in 1992. A regular visitor to Anfield and the club’s Melwood training ground, he was diagnosed with vascular dementia last year.
Liverpool said the club were “deeply saddened”, adding: “The thoughts of everyone at Liverpool Football Club are with Ronnie’s wife Joyce, his children, family and many friends.”
Liverpool published a video on Twitter of the first-team squad holding a minute’s silence on one of the pitches at Melwood prior to Wednesday’s training session.
Current Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson wrote on Instagram: “The reason being captain of Liverpool Football Club is such a huge honour is because legendary figures like Ronnie Moran held it before I did. I know I speak for all of the current players when I say that we are all deeply saddened by Ronnie’s passing.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “Maybe more of us should try to be like him — and in him we had the perfect role model. “I am sure nobody can, or will, forget him. It’s a sad day, but on the other hand it is a day where everybody thinks about him and thinks about his very, very special story.”



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