Steve Nicol has hailed Liverpool legend Graeme Souness in his autobiography.

There is no doubting the fact that Souness is arguably one of the best players to have ever donned the Liverpool jersey and the Scotsman played a key role in guiding the Reds to the European title back in 1984.

Nicol was part of the team which beat Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on the night and in his new autobiography, the 54-year-old has gone on to reveal how Souness inspired the Liverpool side to victory in such an intimidating atmosphere.

In extracts of the book, '5 League Titles and a Packet of Crisps', serialized by the Daily Mirror, Nicol stated: "If there was one person you would want leading you into battle it would be Graeme Souness.

"Charlie – short for Champagne Charlie after he [Souness] amassed a rather large drinks bill at the Holiday Inn when he signed for Liverpool – had this look on his face from the moment we arrived at the stadium. He was relishing what lay ahead, couldn't wait.

"Charlie gave the impression he enjoyed walking into a stadium full of people that hated him. It seemed he got more pleasure turning over ­opponents that didn't like him.

"You can imagine what that did for someone like me. I'm looking at our captain and he's got that, 'I can't wait for this' look on his face. You know you're going to be okay.

"The thought of defeat never crosses your mind. Losing was not something we contemplated, even for a second.

"After we had acknowledged our families and the Liverpool fans, Charlie beckoned us to follow him as he led us on a walk round the ­perimeter of the pitch towards the famous Curva Sud, home of the fearsome Roma Ultras. He wanted to show their supporters we weren't fazed by the occasion.

"Like a red rag to a bull. I've never heard noise like it. Gutsy? Yes. Crazy? Of course. But his actions summed him up perfectly. Fearless."