Former Liverpool chief scout Alex Miller says Rafa Benitez "killed himself" by having too many 'yes' men around him at Anfield.
Miller is currently in charge of Sweden's AIK Stockholm. He told the Sunday Mail: "The players had a great rapport with me. They knew I didn't have favourites.
"When Rafa arrived he went to Portugal during Euro 2004 to meet Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, and Gerrard in the England camp.
"They said: 'If you're going to keep someone then you should keep Alex.' "He offered me the job of first-team coach and that was it. We had some great times. The Champions League win in Istanbul was amazing."
The partnership ended three years later when Miller left to take charge of Japanese side JEF United.
And the Scot believes that was the catalyst for Benitez losing his job at the end of last season.
He said: "I don't want to talk myself up but people don't realise the contribution I made at Liverpool.
"The rest of the people around Rafa were yes men and massaged his ego. That's the way he liked it - he killed himself."
