Lee (left) saw
his role under Dalglish altered cuts 24-year tie with Liverpool
five days before the first team returns for pre-season
training.
Sammy Lee's three-year spell as Liverpool
assistant manager has ended after he parted company with the
Anfield club.
A popular figure among supporters and players
alike thanks to his bubbly character and willingness to wear his
heart on his sleeve, the 52-year-old returned to Liverpool in 2008
to become Rafa Benitez's number two.
Lee stayed on after Benitez left 12 months ago to
assist Roy Hodgson and remained after the former Fulham manager was
replaced by Kenny Dalglish earlier this year.
But even though he remained an integral part of
the backroom set up, Lee's role altered slightly after Steve Clarke
arrived to become Dalglish's right-hand man in January.
The parting of the ways will deeply sadden Lee,
who won four League titles and two European Cups during his 10
years as a Liverpool player.
In total, the pint-sized midfielder made 295
appearances, scoring 14 goals before leaving for spells at Queens
Park Rangers and Osasuna. He was also capped 14 times by
England
Well respected within the game, Lee first joined
Liverpool's coaching staff in 1993 when he received an offer from
Greame Souness .
He worked his way up from coaching the reserve
team to a place alongside Gerard Houllier and Phil Thompson during
Liverpool's 2000-01 campaign which culminated in them winning a Cup
treble.
Change for the better: Rafa Benitez produced a
masterstroke by luring Lee back to Anfield
Lee became a part time member of Sven
Goran Eriksson's set up in 2001 and joined permanently in 2004
after Houllier left the club.
A spell as Bolton's assistant manager followed in
2005 before he succeeded Sam Allardyce at the Reebok in 2007 and
there is now inevitable speculation he will join Allardyce at West
Ham.
It was a regarded as a masterstroke by Benitez to
bring Lee back in May 2008 and he certainly played his part that
season, as Liverpool finished runners-up to Manchester United in
the Barclays Premier League.
When Benitez was confined to hospital after
undergoing surgery to remove kidney stones, Lee became caretaker
manager but never flinched, insisting at the time it was 'business
as usual'. Shortly after that, he received a contract extension in
March 2009.
There has been no comment on the matter from
either Lee or Liverpool but the timing of his departure – five days
before the first team returns for pre-season training – is a
surprise.
After all, Dalglish was quick to heap praise on
the way Lee and Clarke had helped him after he was made permanent
manager in May.
Dalglish said at the time: 'The best way to get
results is to get great people working with you and that's what we
did.
'You identify your faults and bring in someone
that's better than you at what you can't do and we've got a good
chance. Stevie and Sammy are much better at what they do than what
I could do for them.
'Steve has been fantastic, Sammy is still here
and done a great job alongside him and the three of us work
together. It works well for us.'
Next move: Could Lee be reunited with Allardyce at West
Ham?