When Kenny Dalglish announced he was standing down as Liverpool manager following a gruelling and mentally draining post-Hillsborough period in 1991, many believed that the Anfield legend’s time in the dugout was over.
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The Scot had led Liverpool to three Division One titles and two FA Cups during his six seasons in the dugout, but looked to be mentally spent when he emotionally announced he was ending his 14-year association with the Reds.
But he was back just eight months later, when Dalglish took on a new challenge with second-tier Blackburn Rovers, a side that appeared to be on the up following heavy investment from wealthy supporter Jack Walker.
Dalglish on his Blackburn Rovers stint
“I wasn’t trying to prove myself, but I was very fortunate that I was asked to become manager at a time when Jack was throwing his heart into the job, as well as his finances,” Dalglish tells FourFourTwo. “His finances and his support were both 100 per cent genuine. He was born and bred Blackburn.”
After taking the helm in October 1991, Dalglish soon had Rovers sitting at the top of the table, before guiding them to the play-offs, where they overcame Leicester 1-0 at Wembley.
The spending immediately went up a notch – Blackburn broke the British transfer record to sign a young Alan Shearer from Southampton for £3.6 million that summer. “We spent Jack’s money quite well, if you gauge it in terms of success,” Dalglish reflects.
“We got promoted in that first season, then we finished fourth in our first year back in the top flight.”
A second-place finish behind Manchester United followed in 1993/94, with £5million signing Chris Sutton joining that summer, as Walker again broke the British transfer record. Forming the famous ‘SAS’ strike partnership with Shearer, the duo scored 49 Premier League goals that season to put Blackburn in control of the title race going into the final day.
Fittingly for Dalglish, his side would face Liverpool at Anfield. Blackburn lost 2-1, but Manchester United’s failure to win against West Ham meant they were champions.
With the triumph, Dalglish had become just the fourth manager to win the English title with two different clubs, after Brian Clough (Derby and Nottingham Forest), Herbert Chapman (Huddersfield and Arsenal), and Tom Watson (Sunderland and Liverpool).
“Jack was the person most responsible for everything that Blackburn achieved,” Dalglish insists.
“We hardly blinked our eyes in the second tier, then suddenly we were champions of England. It was all done over a period of just a few years. It was done because Jack was 100 per cent genuine and very generous.
“All of the players that came in were a credit to themselves. They could have just taken the money, taken it easy and we would have achieved nothing. But fortunately, they were a credit to themselves and the town of Blackburn.”
Asif Kapadia’s documentary film Kenny Dalglish is now on Amazon Prime
