Best manager? Ex-England star Emile Heskey picks out Celtic boss & Liverpool icon while helping to find Premier League coaches of the future

East Midlands native Heskey graduated out of the Foxes’ youth system to make his senior debut at the age of 17 - while still being a first-year trainee. There was to be no holding him back from there, with Leicester helped back into the Premier League during his first full season as a regular.

Having taken the top-flight by storm, with O’Neill calling shots from the dugout, it did not take long for the powerful frontman to attract admiring glances from afar. The first of 62 England caps were earned in 1999, before moving to Merseyside in a then record-setting £11 million ($15m) transfer the following year.

Proving to be the perfect foil for Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen, Heskey won the FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup during his time at Liverpool - with five of those trophies being picked up across the memorable calendar year of 2001 as French tactician Houllier enjoyed a silverware-winning purple patch.

He would go on to represent Birmingham, Wigan, Aston Villa, Newcastle Jets and Bolton before hanging up his boots in 2016 at the age of 38. He retired having scored 110 Premier League goals while gracing European Championships and World Cups as an international.

Heskey worked with some highly-decorated managers over the course of his career and - speaking in association with the Chase football coaching programme that is providing free access to coaching qualifications for people from low-income backgrounds across the UK - told GOAL when asked to pick out the cream of that crop: “I would say Gerard Houllier, coaching-wise. Best manager? I would say him, Gerard Houllier, and Martin O'Neill. Martin didn't really coach that much, so if you're talking about coaching, I would say Gerard Houllier.

“Very meticulous in everything that he did. Very detailed. It was tough coming from one environment to another one where there's a lot of information and a lot of understanding. But once you start to click, it just opens up football to a different level.”

Heskey will be among those watching on when England, following their semi-final run and third-place finish at the 2026 World Cup, return to action on Saturday in UEFA Nations League competition against global title holders Spain.

The now 48-year-old has been at St George’s Park with Chase to discuss how the impact of the Three Lions' run at FIFA's flagship event is inspiring a new generation to consider football coaching as a career.

The Chase football coaching programme is providing an avenue for more people to get into football coaching by offering fully funded access to introductory coaching qualifications and professional coaching bursaries for people from low-income backgrounds across the UK.

Heskey said of what Chase’s programme is all about and why it is so important: “The Chase football coaching programme is a fantastic initiative that gives people on low income an opportunity to take that first step onto the coaching ladder that they probably didn't think was there.

“Whether it be their background, whether it be financially, whatever it may be, they give them the opportunity now to take that step. Whether they want to go up to level B or they want to stay with grassroots, it gives them the opportunity to do that.

“I think growing up in football, everyone remembers their coaches, especially when it comes to grassroots. I think what Chase is doing is giving more and more local coaches the opportunity to get on that ladder. You never know, they might make it up into the Premier League.”

Heskey’s only experience of life as a coach was relatively brief, having taken charge of Leicester City’s Women’s team on an interim basis in November 2021. He took in just one game at the helm and has since worked with the Football Association (FA) and Professional (PFA) Footballers’ Association as part of their England Elite Coach Programme (EECP).

He continues to keep a close eye on all levels of the game, and those working their way through the ranks, with two of his sons - Jaden and Reigan - benefitting from the facilities and expertise on offer in Manchester City’s academy system.

For more information about the Chase football coaching programme, visit: https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/chase-football-coaching-programme

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