5 best Scottish managers of all time

#3 Kenny Dalglish

Dalglish is all smiles during his second spell in charge of Liverpool

Another Liverpool icon, Dalglish transferred his supreme playing talents to the manager’s bench in 1985. By that point, he had firmly established himself as one of the club’s greatest ever players: scorer of 169 goals, winner of five league titles and an incredible three European Cups.

He began as player-manager in 1985-1986 and soon won the club its first ‘double’ of league and FA Cup. He purchased players wisely, with Peter Beardsley and John Barnes going on to become pivotal attackng figures in proceeding years after joining in 1987.

In six years at the helm, he oversaw three league titles, 2 FA Cups. Dalglish departed for Blackburn Rovers in 1991 and took the unfashionable club to an unlikely Premier League title in 1995, perhaps the most surprising until Leicester City’s astounding triumph in 2016.

He spent big, certainly, signing the legendary Alan Shearer for a huge sum, but Dalglish still had to guide the team through a brutal campaign. Lesser - and short - spells as manager of Newcastle and Celtic followed before Dalglish returned to Liverpool after 11 years out of football management in 2011.

Taking over from the inept Roy Hodgson, Dalglish solidified the shaky club and ended with the 2012 League Cup to show for his efforts. He was arguably a better player than manager, but his success off the pitch merely highlights just how good he was on it.