Man Utd legend interviewed for Liverpool job before Dalglish completed return

10 December 2023 , 06:45

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Man Utd legend interviewed for Liverpool job before Dalglish completed return

Mark Hughes conducted an interview to become Liverpool boss before the return of club icon Kenny Dalglish.

The former Scottish forward took the reins at Anfield back in January 2011 following the sacking of Roy Hodgson after a rotten run of form. Dalglish, who won the league titles three times in his first stint in charge, initially returned to the Anfield dugout on an interim basis.

He did enough to land the job permanently by winning the League Cup that season. Dalglish oversaw 74 games second time around, winning the League Cup in 2012.

While he will always hold a special place in the heart of Liverpool fans, Man United hero Hughes could potentially have taken the job instead but did not progress past the interview stage.

Speaking on Sam Allardyce ’s No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Hughes said: "I once had an interview for the Liverpool job. I don’t think that’s well-documented, but I didn’t get it so that doesn’t really count does it.

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"I think Kenny [Dalglish] decided he was going to be a manager again. Perhaps the choice of candidates wasn’t great and that’s why I didn’t get any closer.

Mark Hughes was most recently with Bradford City in League Two (Getty Images)

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"I had a sit down with people at Liverpool, there you go. I think that would’ve been more of a shock than me getting the Man City job."

While his second stint at Liverpool was not as successful as the first, the man who beat Hughes to the job, Dalglish claimed he did not hold any regrets. Speaking shortly before he was dismissed back in the summer of 2013, he said: "I have said it was an honour to be asked to come back. It was unfortunate in the circumstances because Roy had lost his job but I don't see any reason to change my opinion now."

Dalglish has not taken up another managerial position since but did return to Anfield as a non-executive director in October 2013. Hughes, meanwhile, has held a number of roles right up until 2023.

He spent just under a year with QPR before being appointed Stoke boss. The 60-year-old spent nearly five years with the Potters but was sacked in January 2018.

Hughes had less than a year with Southampton before taking over at Bradford in February 2022. That job also ended in the sack earlier this year with the Bantams 18th in League Two, that after leading the club to the play-offs the previous campaign. He was replaced by Graham Alexander, who has managed to lift the club to 14th in the league.

Daniel Orme