'He will never be forgotten' - Liverpool and Henderson pay tribute to late manager Houllier

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson led his side in paying tribute to former manager Gerard Houllier, who passed away this week at the age of 73. 

Houllier died on Monday following a heart operation in Paris, having suffered from heart trouble for decades - stretching back to his time at Anfield. 

He spent a total of six seasons with the Reds, at first as joint-manager alongside Roy Evans and then in his own right, and won six major titles at the club including an unprecedented treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in 2000-01. 

His managerial career also included stints at Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and the France national team, while he won worldwide renown for his work in France as the nation's technical director; helping to develop young talent such as David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry who helped Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 1998. 

Liverpool held a minute's applause for the late coach ahead of their Premier League clash on Wednesday at home to Tottenham, while the matchday programme was also dedicated to his memory. 

Henderson wrote a moving tribute inside the magazine, thanking the Frenchman for his sterling work on Merseyside between 1998 and 2004.

“The thoughts of myself and all the players here at Liverpool are with the family, friends and former colleagues of Gerard Houllier following the news that he has passed away,” the captain said.

“Although Gerard was in charge before my time here, he was clearly a manager who brought great success to the club in terms of trophies, but who also took Liverpool into the Champions League and oversaw the redevelopment of Melwood.

“The Champions Wall would have lower numbers upon it without his contribution to LFC and I know all he did for Liverpool will never be forgotten.”

Wednesday's match at Anfield brings together the two Premier League pace-setters, with Liverpool and Tottenham tied on 25 points ahead of kick-off - the latter currently occupy first place by virtue of a superior goal difference.