Graeme Souness would be among football's greatest managers were he still shouting orders from the touchline, claims Ian Rush.
The Scotsman is now a pundit having been out of management since being sacked by Newcastle in 2006.
Souness was one of the best players in Liverpool's all-conquering side of the 1980s and eventually managed the Reds.
But his three-year spell in the Anfield dugout was not as successful as his time as a player.
He delivered a solitary FA Cup having enjoyed success north of the border with Rangers prior to returning to Merseyside.
But had he persevered with management Rush is convinced he'd be in the same bracket as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
“He won the league easily at Rangers and came down thinking maybe he can do the same [at Liverpool ] but he changed things too quickly, simple as that,” Rush told talkSPORT .
“He lost the young players and the old ones by changing things too quickly – what he did have was the right ideas.
“If Graeme Souness was manager of the team now, he'd be up there with the likes of [Jurgen] Klopp, [Pep] Guardiola and [Jose] Mourinho because I think he knows he'd made mistakes.
"He'd be an absolutely incredible manager if he was managing now.”
After being axed by Liverpool Souness went on to manage Galatasaray, Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle.
He won the League Cup while at Ewood Park and the double during his time in Turkey.
