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Twenty-five years ago today Kenny Dalglish stunned the world of football when he resigned as manager of Liverpool.

On the morning of Friday, February 22 1991 Dalglish, manager of the reigning champions and a Liverpool team three points clear at the top of the table, sensationally quit.

The decision was announced at an Anfield press conference at 11am - but the Liverpool Echo already had a world exclusive prepared by Sports Editor Ken Rogers.

The story was so sensitive that only a handful of key personnel were aware of the story - and for the first time in the Echo’s then 112 year history, two front pages were prepared - one of which never saw the light of day.

Ken Rogers, now retired, takes up the story.

“I was sitting in the Editor’s morning conference when one of our reporters, Ric George, knocked on the door and asked if he could have a quick word.

“He told me that Peter Robinson, Liverpool’s Chief Executive, had called to tell us that a press conference had been arranged for 11 o’clock at Anfield and under no circumstances should we miss it.

“When I asked why, he told me that Peter wouldn’t discuss it.

“So I excused myself, called Peter, who I knew very well, and said ‘You’ve set the ball rolling now, can you tell me in confidence what’s going on?’

“He was reluctant, so I knew then it was a very sensitive matter. But eventually he agreed to tell me on the understanding that absolutely nothing should be published before the press conference.

“I agreed, and only then did he tell me that Kenny Dalglish was quitting.

“It was a sensational story - certainly the biggest I’d covered since Howard Kendall left Everton to join Athletic Bilbao four years earlier.

“It wasn’t just a back page exclusive, it was a front page story and I agreed we would keep it as secret as possible.

“I told the editor, John Griffith, and he instructed one other member of staff to prepare a Kenny Quits front page and several background pages, while the rest of the team concentrated on what they believed would be that day’s edition.

“Then I started writing. My big fear was that somehow the story would leak out elsewhere and appear on local radio or TV and we would get the blame!

“But we managed to successfully keep it under wraps.

“A dummy edition was prepared and plated up and I headed off to Anfield. We had agreed that as soon as I saw Kenny walk into the press conference room I would call the office and give the green light for the pre-prepared edition to hit the presses.

“The only problem was that these were the days before mobile phones, and the only phone available for me to use was the payphone which is still there at Anfield - at the top of the stairs by the main entrance. You can imagine how in-demand that phone would have been on a day like that! So rather go into the press conference I stood by the door, and as soon as I saw Kenny walk in I ran to the payphone, put my 10 pence in the slot and gave the green light for the Kenny Quits edition to run.

“The whole experience underlined how much trust Peter Robinson had in us and also how important the Echo was to both of our football clubs in the days before they had their own websites and magazines.”

No picture - but tea and biscuits

The Echo’s Chief Photographer, Colin Lane, was a young agency snapper at the time Kenny quit.

He didn’t capture the exclusive photograph he’d hoped for as he camped outside Dalglish’s Birkdale home in the immediate aftermath of his resignation - but he was treated to tea and biscuits!

He explained: “Kenny resigned on the Friday and the following day myself and a bunch of reporters and photographers were camped outside his home in the hope that he might say some more about his decision.

“After several hours people started to drift away and by Saturday night there was only me and one reporter left.

“Then Kenny’s front door opened and his wife Marina and daughter came out with a tray of tea and biscuits for us.

“We asked if there was any chance that Kenny could say a few words. Marina smiled and said ‘I’m afraid not, but you’re welcome to a cup of tea.’

“She’s a lovely lady and I’ll always remember that.”

Kenny's decision in his own words

Kenny Dalglish did explain his decision fully in his autobiography “Dalglish” published in 1997.

He told Henry Winter: “Although I didn’t realise it at the time, Hillsborough was the most important factor in my decision to leave Liverpool in 1991.

"I thought to myself ‘Why should I feel any pressure’. The people under pressure were those who had lost their loved ones.

"In truth, I had wanted to leave Anfield in 1990, a year before I eventually resigned. In the 22 months between Hillsborough and my resignation, the strain kept growing until I finally snapped.

“By Christmas my body was covered in big blotches. A few even appeared on my face. I saw a doctor nearly every day for injections. He used to come to the ground, bend me over, give me injection in one cheek and send me home like a pin-cushion.

"I would go to bed, wake up the next morning, go back to the ground and try to start again. I don’t know whether the rash resulted from the general strain.

"My lack of tolerance towards the children probably upset me even more than it did them. I hated to see the surprise and hurt on the faces of my children when I bawled at them.

"As a player, I was pretty much teetotal because I was dedicated to my profession but in the period before I resigned I used to drink wine so I could be more sociable with my family. After Hillsborough, Marina began learning about counselling and tried to counsel me. But my family could see how desperately I needed a break, I was unwell and under strain.

"I started having doubts about myself and my ability to make decisions. In the past I would just make the decision, usually more right than wrong and move on without thinking. Now I agonized over anything.

“Against Everton in that famous 4-4 fifth round replay, I was the only person at Goodison that night who knew it was my last game. Before the game, I lay on my hotel bed and decided that I had to get out. The alternative was going mad.

"Liverpool needed somebody who was going to be authorative, somebody who could make a decision. I couldn’t do that anymore.”