'He always put others before himself' - Rush on Keegan

Ian Rush has paid tribute to fellow Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan, who died earlier this week at the age of 75.

Keegan played for the Reds between 1971 and 1977 and will be remembered when Liverpool take on Sunderland in a friendly in Nashville, USA on Saturday. Both sets of players will wear black armbands and there will be a minute's applause for the former England manager.

"I have lots of memories of Kevin Keegan. He was one of my dad's favourite players. What he did for Liverpool was fantastic - and he did fantastic in Europe as well," Rush told BBC Sport.

"He was a great person. I remember when I was playing for Wrexham in 1998 and he was the manager at Fulham. They beat us 2-0 and the first thing he did was come and give me a big hug and he told me to just keep on going and enjoy the football, so that's the kind of person he was. He always put others before himself.

"You had Keegan and Toshack then Rush and Dalglish, so it's great to compare that. It's special. Even when he was England manager, I really thought they'd win something.

"He threw everything at it as a player and a manager. As long as you gave 100%, he'd be happy - and, more importantly, he gave 100% to everything he did. That's what made him such a special player and manager."