Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says Gerard Houllier was the best manager he played for.
Houllier faces his old club with Aston Villa on Monday.
"He came back too soon," Carragher told liverpoolfc.tv, referring to Houllier's dramatic return to the dugout for our Champions League encounter with Roma in March 2002 - just weeks after undergoing heart surgery.
"I think he'd say himself now that he'd probably have been better waiting until the end of the season. That was just his enthusiasm for football. Obviously it didn't help him that summer when he made certain decisions but for the first three or four years he was the best manager I've had.
"He wasn't so much a coach, he was a manager. He was fantastic in a team meeting in getting you pumped up for a game, getting everyone together and team spirit."
