Gary McAllister has been appointed as Liverpool's first-team coach, the club have announced.

McAllister, 50, returns to the club where he spent two successful years as a player between 2000-02 and becomes the latest addition to Brendan Rodgers' new-look backroom staff.

Rodgers, who earlier this month named Sean O'Driscoll as his new assistant manager and elevated Pepijn Lijnders to the role of first-team development coach, said on www.liverpoolfc.com: "Gary has a special connection with this club and its supporters, and I'm delighted he is joining our team as first-team coach.

"When I met him I was struck by his passion, enthusiasm and knowledge for what we're looking to achieve here.

"He has experience coaching at the highest level and is someone who can connect with players and help them learn from his knowledge and understanding of representing this great club."

McAllister first joined Liverpool at the age of 35 on a free transfer from Coventry and helped the Reds win an historic treble of FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001.

The former Scotland international also lifted the UEFA Super Cup and Charity Shield during his time at Anfield before leaving to take up a player-manager role back at Coventry.

Since then McAllister has managed Leeds as well as holding coaching positions with Middlesbrough and most recently Aston Villa, where he worked alongside the man who first took him to Liverpool, Gerard Houllier.

McAllister, who left Villa in 2011, said of his Liverpool return: "I'm delighted. I'm really excited about the prospect of coming back. It's fantastic and I'm really looking forward to it.

"I feel as if I owe Liverpool, getting that opportunity at the last stage of my career, at 35 and getting that opportunity.

"This is similar, I feel the same as I did with that – that was a surprise phone call back then when I was given a chance to come and play at Liverpool as a 35-year-old.

"Right place at the right time, and I just hope it repeats itself. A lot of hard work and dedication…everything is there, Liverpool is a club where you can win things – that's a fact.

"There's definite quality there and I'm just looking forward to getting in amongst it."