Damiano, speaking to LFC Magazine, said: I have great respect for Gerard. In my estimation, he is an exceptional man. He is out of the ordinary. There are few such people in football, but he is one of them.
"It wasn't by accident that he won the French Championship and had other good results. Gerard is someone who built up French football. He took control of everything and you have seen the results in 1998 and beyond. Gerard has been the number one man in French football for 15 years. He has been the dynamo and the thinker behind the change in our football. But he didn't just think - he put things into practise.
"I don't think he has deserved these permanent attacks, especially as he has an honours list with Liverpool. All the criticism is unfair because of the type of man Gerard is and the honours he has won. He deserves respect for this but, unfortunately, people forget quickly.
"There is a respect and a discipline about the work which is done here. Nobody goes through the motions. That's what makes me believe we can finish in that fourth place. I hope with all my heart we will because it will be an objective achieved."