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For Gary McAllister, there was only one word.

He was 35, he’d just joined Liverpool and in his first training session had encountered a 20-year-old Steven Gerrard.

Wow.

McAllister knew then that he was witnessing something special, and the next 16 years would prove him right.

And as Gerrard calls time on an extraordinary career, the Scot is keen to join the likes of Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Cafu, Javier Zanetti and Thierry Henry in paying tribute to his former teammate.

“What can you say about the man?” he tells the ECHO. “For me, it was never a surprise to see where his career went.

“When I first got to Melwood, he was a young man but what a player. It was one of those where you just step back, have a look and go ‘wow!’

“Bearing in mind Liverpool had already had Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen burst onto the scene and make a huge impact....well, here was another one. What a talent.”

McAllister would take the young Gerrard under his wing at Anfield, the senior pro guiding the young apprentice. Gerrard had feared the veteran had come to take his place in the team at first, but admits his opinion soon changed. He ended up learning plenty.

“That was my job brief, to be perfectly honest,” McAllister says.

“When I signed, Gerard Houllier made it perfectly clear that I was not going to be playing every week. But there was a crop of youngsters that maybe needed to be around somebody who had been there, seen it and done it, and had won things.

“But the other way of looking at it is this – I got so many benefits from that. It re-invigorated me seeing so many talented young players, Steven of course included.

“So if I gave them a millimetre of guidance or advice, then what I got back was much more, believe me.”

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McAllister and Gerrard remain good friends, in regular contact. Doubtless, Gerrard will have sought the former Leeds man’s advice before confirming his decision to retire.

As for the next step? It looks set to be coaching. McAllister went down that route himself, of course, so is well placed to warn about the pitfalls which await such a career change.

“Speaking to him over the last two or three years, I know he’s very into the coaching,” he says. “He’s started his badges and all that, so it’s definitely a route he wants to go down.

“Others of his ilk have chosen different routes, going into the media and stuff like that, but I think Stevie has always had it in his mind that he wants to give (coaching) a crack.”

McAllister added: “The biggest thing you need when you go into coaching or management is respect, and he’s got that in abundance.

“It’s extremely difficult. I went down a route that if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have done it.

“I went to Coventry as player manager, which is nigh-on impossible. I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses, but I took jobs at the wrong time. You have to get it right.

“Stevie has walked away from one (at MK Dons) because he says the time is not quite right, and you’ve got to respect that. He’ll have time now to mull over his options, and I don’t think he should rush.

“He won’t be short of offers and rightly so! He’s got a lot to give, and now he wants to give something back. He wants to share his experiences and give insight into what it’s like, as much a teacher as a coach or a manager. I wish him all the very best.”

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McAllister admits he was fortunate to have played alongside, and against, some of the best during his own distinguished career.

So how does Gerrard compare?

“Oh he’s right up there!” he answers immediately. “That’s pretty clear, as far as I’m concerned.

“I’ve watched him from the stands as a fan. I was at the Millennium Stadium for the FA Cup final when he produced, I was one of the people watching on TV for Istanbul when it looked dead and buried, and he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, pulling his team over the line.

“Great players are capable of great things. And what he did throughout his career was no fluke, he did it so many times.”

He adds: “He’s just a good all-round bloke as well. That’s something that people tend to glaze over, but it’s true.

“He’s a wonderful leader, a great captain for club and country, but above all else a good guy too.”