SAMMY'S DELIGHT AT ANFIELD RETURN

Paul Eaton 16 May 2008
	Sammy Lee today spoke of his delight after returning to Anfield as assistant manager to Rafael Benitez.
The former Reds midfielder has signed in for a third spell with the Reds as a replacement for Alex Miller, who left to begin a managerial career last week. After spells with the England management team and Bolton Wanderers, Lee is now thrilled to be back with the club he served so loyally as both a player and a coach. "I've been away for a while but everyone knows what this club means to me and it's a great pleasure to be back," he told Liverpoolfc.tv. "When a club the size of Liverpool comes in for you and when a manager of the magnitude of Rafael Benitez wants you then you can't say no. When I found out they were interested in me I was really thrilled. "After the sabbatical I've had I just wish the season was starting tomorrow, but the players have had a long, difficult and demanding season and they need to get away and get their batteries recharged. "I've been around Melwood this morning and seen a lot of old faces but a lot of new faces as well. I've shook hands with everyone and introduced myself. There are some great people here and I can't wait to get working with them. It's so nice to be back." Lee arrived back at Anfield after a disappointing spell as manager of Bolton Wanderers - but despite his career at the Reebok Stadium not panning out as he would have wished, he has no regrets about his time as a number one. "I was very honoured and privileged to be given the position as Bolton manager. The pride and the honour I felt to be their manager was only outweighed by the sheer disappointment that it didn't go well," he said. "I have to say the Bolton fans were fantastic towards me. I haven't had the chance to say that before but I want to thank them. Even when results weren't going well they were very supportive towards me and, most importantly, to the players." But now he's back at the club he has supported since he was a boy, Sammy is keen to play his part in helping the Reds in their quest to win more silverware. "I think the club has made great progress over the last few years and they were so close to having a great season this time around," he added. "Hopefully we can keep improving and get to where we all want." BENITEZ WELCOMES LEE ADDITION Paul Hassall 16 May 2008 Rafael Benitez has welcomed the addition of former Reds midfielder Sammy Lee to his backroom staff. The Liverpool boss admitted it was a positive step to appoint the ex-Bolton boss as his assistant manager and identified his passion and experience as the key factors in his decision to bring him back to Melwood. "We are very pleased to have brought Sammy back to Liverpool because he is someone who knows the club really well," said Benitez. "He also knows about the passion of the club and about the standards that we set here so that will make it much easier for him to settle into his new role. "But we have not brought Sammy back simply because he used to play for the club and used to work here as a coach. "He is a very experienced and very well respected coach in his own right and his reputation in football made him the stand out candidate when we knew we were looking for a new member of our coaching staff. "He will add something different to what we already have and it will be good to work with him. "I already have a good relationship with him and I will be looking to build on that in the weeks and months to come." from liverpoolfc.tv