LIVERPOOL have finally decided to end the traditional Boot Room chain of command and are seeking to appoint a new coach in the summer. Roy Evans will not he dismissed, but by the time the new season starts his club will have undergone a significant overhaul.

The decision will shatter the illusions of the romantics and disappoint legions of supporters, but Saturday's embarrassing defeat is already regarded as something of a watershed by senior members of the Liverpool hierarchy.

The search is already on for a top-class coach to work alongside Evans next season. Liverpool hope to lure to the North-west not only a man of experience and proven ability, but one with a far-reaching and comprehensive knowledge of the European football scene. It is highly unlikely that he would have had any previous links with the club.

Liverpool's failure to realise their rich potential this season also means that as many as four high-profile players will be sold and replaced this summer, in what will count as a dramatic shake-up at a club unaccustomed to the wind of change.

Several influential figures within the Anfield boardroom have argued for some time that, despite the introduction of such men as Patrik Berger and Bjorn Kvarme over the past nine months, Liverpool are too parochial in their approach to buying players.

Liverpool's chief coach is Ronnie Moran, a loyal servant for more than 45 years but a man inching towards retirement.

Although the club's new coach will have far-reaching powers, it is expected that Evans's current assistant Doug Livermore and the reserve-team manager Sammy Lee will retain their positions.

Once Liverpool's managerial team has been restructured, there will also be sweeping changes made within the dressing room. Several senior players are at risk, the most notable being Stan Collymore, Neil Ruddock, Phil Babb and Mark Kennedy.

Collymore's future at Anfield has been the subject of much speculation since his £8.5 million transfer from Nottingham Forest only 21 months ago, and a summer move to Aston Villa cannot be discounted. Ruddock and Babb, two international central defenders, are unsettled after losing their first-team places.