In an exclusive interview, former England striker Emile Heskey named Martin O’Neill and Gerard Houllier as the two most influential managers of his playing career. Heskey, who represented Leicester City, Liverpool and England, is now helping to identify and encourage the next generation of Premier League coaches.
Heskey’s Leicester Foundations
Born in the East Midlands, Heskey came through Leicester City’s youth system and made his senior debut at 17 while still a first-year trainee. He quickly became an important part of Leicester’s return to the Premier League.
O’Neill played a major role in that early development. Under his guidance, Heskey established himself as one of the league’s most promising young forwards and soon attracted interest from bigger clubs.
Heskey earned his first England cap in 1999 before moving to Liverpool the following year for a then club-record fee of £11 million. At Anfield, he formed an effective partnership with Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen.
During his Liverpool career, Heskey won the FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Five of those trophies arrived during the memorable 2001 season, when Houllier’s side enjoyed one of the most successful periods in the club’s recent history.
He later played for Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa, Newcastle Jets and Bolton before retiring in 2016. He finished with 110 Premier League goals and represented England at major European and World Cup tournaments.
Why Houllier Stands Out
When asked to choose the best managers he worked with, Heskey placed Houllier at the top from a coaching perspective, while also highlighting O’Neill’s influence as a manager.
Heskey described Houllier as meticulous and highly detailed. The transition from Leicester to Liverpool brought a much more demanding level of tactical information, but once the players understood the system, it opened up a new way of seeing the game.
“Gerard Houllier was very meticulous in everything he did. He was detailed, and once you started to understand the ideas, football opened up to a different level,” Heskey said.
Building the Next Generation of Coaches
Heskey is now working with the Chase football coaching programme, which provides fully funded introductory coaching qualifications and professional coaching bursaries for people from low-income backgrounds across the United Kingdom.
The programme is designed to help more people take their first step into coaching, whether they want to work in grassroots football or progress towards the professional game.
Heskey believes the influence of a good coach can stay with a player for life. By creating more opportunities at the entry level, the initiative could help develop coaches who might eventually reach the Premier League.
Heskey Continues to Follow the Pathway
Heskey has had limited experience as a coach himself. He briefly managed Leicester City Women on an interim basis in 2021 and later worked with the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association through the England Elite Coach Programme.
He remains closely connected to different levels of the sport and continues to follow the progress of young players and coaches. His sons, Jaden and Reigan, are also developing within Manchester City’s academy system.
Heskey’s own career shows how much influence a coach can have on a player’s development. His current work aims to make that kind of guidance available to a wider group of aspiring coaches.
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