Former Rovers defender Alan Wright says Kenny Dalglish was “way ahead of his time” as a manager.

Wright played under Dalglish at Ewood Park before heading to Aston Villa in 1995, just before Rovers clinched the Premiership title.

The legendary Scot received the Lifetime Achievement Award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 last night in Salford. He was joined on stage by Alan Shearer and Tim Sherwood among others.

“The first time I met Kenny Dalglish was when I was signing for Blackburn,” Wright told I Had Trials Once Podcast.

“We walked into the office to meet him and Ray Harford. I was sat there in awe because Kenny is obviously a legend.

Lancashire Telegraph: Dalglish joined on stage by Alan Shearer and Tim Sherwood among othersDalglish joined on stage by Alan Shearer and Tim Sherwood among others (Image: PA)

“We all sat down and he just said, ‘There is going to be one offer and one offer only, and this is the offer.’

“I looked at my agent expecting him to negotiate and ask for more, but he just nodded his head and accepted the deal straight away. That was it.”

‘King Kenny’ had plenty of success at Liverpool before taking up the job at Ewood Park, and Wright recalled how he focused on the “tiny details” that would make a big difference in games.

“Both Kenny Dalglish and Ray Harford were great coaches and it was a massive learning curve for me,” he added. “Kenny would give you the tiny details, but they would be what won you games.

“We played Chelsea away and Kenny noticed that Dave Beasant, Chelsea’s goalkeeper, liked to move early to stop the cross so he told Jason Wilcox to shoot at the near post instead of crossing it.

“Sure enough, that’s how he scored and we won 1-0. Things like that were way ahead of his time.

“I remember playing against Chris Waddle, who would cut back and cross the ball a lot. I just couldn’t stop him from checking back and crossing the ball in every time.

“Kenny pulled me at half-time and basically taught me how to defend against him in about three minutes. He’s not even a defender and he taught me how to stop him.

“He made me show him outside and he couldn’t run past me because his legs were going. He never got another cross in, it was unbelievable.”