EXCLUSIVE: Gary McAllister lifts the lid on working with Pep Lijnders at Liverpool ahead of the Dutchman facing his former club with Man City, and talks Steven Gerrard's coaching return
Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, assistant trainer Pepijn Lijnders of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League match between AS Monaco v Manchester City at the Stade Louis II
Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, assistant trainer Pepijn Lijnders of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League match between AS Monaco v Manchester City at the Stade Louis II
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Liverpool will come up against a familiar face alongside Pep Guardiola in the dugout when they travel to Man City on Sunday. While the Spaniard will celebrate his 1000th game as a manager against his long-time foes, the game will also see Pep Lijnders lock horns with his former employers for the first time since leaving the Reds.
The Dutchman stood down as Liverpool assistant manager following a trophy-laden six years in the summer of 2024, as he joined Jurgen Klopp and the rest of his backroom staff in calling time on their stints in charge at Anfield.
He would embark on his own managerial career after his Reds exit, taking over at Red Bull Salzburg.
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However, his time in Austria ultimately was not a success as he was sacked after just half a season.
But having repeatedly shared his desire to become a manager in his own right after leaving Liverpool, eyebrows were raised when he returned to a number two role last summer - and at Man City too, the very club he had helped fight so hard against during his time with the Reds.
But in a week where Lijnders’ successor at Liverpool, John Heitinga, was sacked from his own post-Reds managerial role with Ajax, one of the former's old Anfield colleagues was not surprised to see the Dutchman return to his assistant roots.
Liverpool legend Gary McAllister worked alongside Lijnders during his own brief stint on the Reds coaching staff, having been appointed as first team coach to Brendan Rodgers in July 2015 only weeks after the Dutchman had been promoted to first-team development coach.
And having been impressed by what he saw from Lijnders during his time as colleagues, he knows exactly what the coach brings to the table at Man City.
"It was no surprise that Pep went for another Pep! He’s, on the grass, in the training sessions, one of the best I've seen," McAllister told the ECHO in an exclusive interview, speaking on behalf of 32red online casino UK
"He's very accomplished, he's worked under some really intelligent managers. So no, I was not really surprised because I think maybe if you're looking at it, during Guardiola's time at Manchester City, I think Jurgen was the one... And Liverpool were the team that got really close to Manchester City and made them fight all the way.
"And obviously Pep will have picked up a few ideas from Jurgen’s regime too.
"He'd been brought up from the academy when I worked with him, Brendan brought him up and that's when I first met Pep.
"Obviously, brought up in the Dutch way, so very much a pure football man. But it was interesting, the training sessions were really, really interesting.
Gary McAllister Liverpool first team coach, Chris Davies head of opposition analysis and Pepijn Lijnders first team development coach during a training session at Melwood Training Ground
Gary McAllister Liverpool first team coach, Chris Davies head of opposition analysis and Pepijn Lijnders first team development coach during a training session at Melwood Training Ground
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"I always see myself more as an old player or a mentor or something, an ex-player. And try to envisage myself in these training sessions and along with Brendan, Pep, there were… the similarities were there. They're both wanting to play attractive football.
"I think he's had one or two goals at management and I think it's two different things. I think coaches for a long time now, when they feel as if they've done all they can do as a coach, then the natural progression is to go and try management.
"But it's a totally different job, it is a different gig completely. And I think Pep's realised that his skill set is as a coach."
Yet despite Lijnders' time at Liverpool, McAllister is confident that it will not put the Reds at a disadvantage when they travel to City on Sunday,
"I think coaches' knowledge of opponents and players and stuff, and the size of the analysis teams are massive," he said. "So there's very little players don't know about guys that are playing against, their coaches already.
"Arne's come in and tried to flip things around a little bit, but as much as I'm saying that about Man City's spotting little changes in Liverpool, Liverpool will be spotting little changes in Man City's make-up as well.
"Look at the way that they've spread the goals this year, Man City, so it suggests that they're getting the ball forward a wee bit quicker. But I think that's prevalent in the Premier League this year. I think the ball's going forward.
"You're seeing within games teams are going to 4-4-2. You can see that the ball has gone up to the striker a little bit quicker, less passes, there's a lot of set-pieces.
"The new thing now in the last three years is set-piece coaches. Deliveries into the box and getting balls in the box is becoming more, whereas if you go back four or five years with loads of possession, loads that try to score the perfect goal, working the ball into people's feet and little 2 v 1s in and around the box and getting to the byline for cutbacks.
"But now you're seeing the ball going into the box, and Haaland's a perfect example of that. He's got 14, 15 goals already and I think the nearest to him and his team is one or two.
"I think there's four or five players who have scored one goal, so that suggests to me that they're looking for Haaland a little bit earlier."
While Lijnders returned to the dugout with Man City, McAllister’s coaching career has remained on hold since leaving Aston Villa in October 2022.
The Scot served as assistant manager to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard with both Rangers and Aston Villa, but ultimately declined the opportunity to link up with his former team-mate in Saudi Arabia.
Gerrard had been in talks about a return to Rangers as manager last month, only to decline the opportunity, with McAllister revealing talks never got as far as him being sounded out himself over possibly linking up again as number two.
But he is confident that Gerrard will return to management when the time is right, and is open to the prospect of joining his coaching staff again in the future.
"I'm never presumptuous, but there was no (call about Rangers)," he revealed. "Obviously, I've spoken to him, I speak to him regularly, you know, during this period, being over in the Middle East and stuff, but they weren't quite close enough to having that chat.
"We had a fantastic time When we went up to Glasgow Rangers, it went ever so well. There was a definite job brief going in there. And I thought Steven in his first job did brilliantly well.
"Villa didn't go as well as we wished it to go. Again, it's like any of the little theories that come up with, because it went wrong, tends to sound a wee bit like excuses. So I won't go down that road.
"It just didn't work. The signings we made got injured very early. And it just, we had a couple of bad results.
"But then moving on, going over to Saudi, that was just too far to go away from my family.
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"But back home, you never say never. I'm never presumptuous to think that because we did well four or five years ago at Glasgow Rangers that I'd get the call. But as you know, I'm very close to Steven.
"I've seen a few of his recent interviews, and obviously speaking to him over the last couple of years when he was over in Saudi, I don't think he's lost the hunger to go back in.
"I can see it in his eye as well. So I think, come the right moment, the right sort of job, somewhere where there's a chance of making something happen, I'm sure he would be a willing listener."