Former Liverpool star and RTÉ analyst Graeme Souness has paid tribute to Bill O’Herlihy following the death of the veteran broadcaster yesterday.
Souness, who now works primarily for Sky Sports, also contributed to the RTÉ panel hosted by O'Herlihy, alongside John Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady.
"I’d like to pass my condolences onto Bill’s family. I found him a solid guy, a class act and he’ll be missed I’m sure by millions," Souness told RTÉ Sport.
"I used to enjoy [coming over to Ireland] and a large part of that was Bill. He made it uncomfortable for us at times but he also made us feel very, very welcome.
“He knew what questions to ask, what buttons to press and he was as good as anyone I have worked with in that position. He was a class act.
"He had a memory as well, he’d pull you up on stuff and say ‘you didn’t say that when you were here a month ago’, so you had to be on your toes when you worked with Bill.
"It made for great television. He asked pertinent questions, he asked direct question but he had a way when he was asking you, he had a twinkle in his eye as was smiling at you at the same time. You knew the difficult one was coming."
Souness also revealed that he felt more of a sense of freedom while working on the RTÉ panel and credited that no holds barred approach to O’Herlihy.
"Working for Sky over here, they have to go out everyday, send crews out every day and speak to players, managers and coaches and have to be a little bit more cautious.
"Over there I felt the gloves were off at times, Bill encouraged that because it does make for good television."
