Jamie Carragher has reacted to the news that Steve Heighway has announced his retirement from his coaching role with the Liverpool FC Academy.
The club took to Twitter to announce the 75-year-old’s departure, after he had spent over 40 years moulding the next generation of footballing talent.
Following this, the former Anfield centre-back shared the news, reacting with a heartfelt message to the Reds legend. He claimed Heighway was a ‘huge influence’ on him when he was a youngster coming through the academy.
Heighway set to leave the club
Prior to his coaching career, Heighway was already a legend on Merseyside.
The Irishman made a staggering 475 appearances for the Reds, having scored 76 goals during his time.
He won numerous major honours at Anfield, including multiple league titles and European Cups.
After various coaching roles in the United States, he re-joined the club in 1989.
He then went on to serve as Liverpool’s head of youth development for 18 years, guiding the likes of Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Carragher into the first team, before initially retiring in 2007. He returned to Kirkby in 2015, but he is now fully retiring from his duties.
With Heighway’s departure, the Reds are losing a big presence at the academy. Some of the club’s greats came through under his leadership, so it will be a real shame to see him go.
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