BILL SHANKLY's granddaughter Karen Gill believes the Anfield legend would have been “extremely moved” by supporters' ongoing celebration of his achievements.

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of the iconic manager who transformed Liverpool from Second Division also-rans into one of the finest teams in Europe during his 15-year reign.

Gill said: “As the years go by I am just astounded at the amount of emails and messages I get. It is so overwhelming.

“It seems to grow in number with each passing year. It's a bit of a phenomenon really. I literally spend the entire day writing to people.

“I get so many lovely texts, e-mails and messages with people sharing their memories.

“If he knew how revered he still is and how strong the feeling is towards him and his legend, then I think that would go a long way to make up for any sadness he felt at leaving Liverpool too soon.

“I don't think he should have resigned when he did. In his last few years I don't think he was happy and I think he realised he had made a mistake by leaving Liverpool when he did.

“If he could see it and look down, I'm sure he would be extremely moved by the feeling towards him and his achievements.”

Gill, who is also chairperson of Liverpool's supporters' committee, added: “ It isn't just Liverpool Football Club and our supporters, it's the football community as a whole who remember him.

“I noticed recently that an Everton fan had written a beautiful piece about him and they had published it as a blog on the internet.

“It means a lot to the family because it shows that he was respected throughout the football world, especially in Britain.

“As soon as I moved to Greece I came to realise just how much people in Europe knew about him too. It obviously makes me very proud.”

Karen believes her granddad would have been delighted by the return of Kenny Dalglish as manager and is hoping the Reds mark the week of the anniversary with victory in the derby at Goodison on Saturday.

“Kenny was always the best choice and I know he would have been 100 per cent behind him,” she said.

“He loved the derby and the good-natured banter that it brought about. Maybe it isn't quite as friendly as it was back in his day and I'd think he'd love to see all of the fans mixed in together again.

“I know he often teased Evertonians and there is the famous quote of his about drawing the curtains if they were playing in his back yard.

“He used to go to Everton quite a lot and even had physiotherapy there sometimes, so he did have a lot of respect for the blue half of Merseyside. But he also loved beating them too! Hopefully that will be the case on Saturday.”