"What is not known by many people is that we have two other awards that we periodically give - that is, not every season - should the case demand.
"One is a services to football award, which could go to a secretary, a chief scout or something of that ilk, for good service to the game and longevity in it.
"We have an award for unique achievements, what we call a special award, and Gerard Houllier definitely falls into that category.
"He took over at Liverpool just over four years ago and the re-emergence of Liverpool at the highest level is there for everybody to see.
"Little did we realise that over a year ago, he and the club would have the greatest test of that improvement when Gerard had his unfortunate heart attack.
"The club, both on and off the pitch, acted remarkably, and the structure Gerard had put in place proved to be solid and able to cope with him not being around.
"Much of this was down to his assistant Phil Thompson, who did an incredibly good job of sustaining the improvement of that football club."