Liverpool will lower flags to half mast across club sites on Saturday following the death of Anfield legend Ron Yeats at the age of 86.

Yeats was part of the Liverpool side that won the Second Division title under Bill Shankly in 1962, before going on to win two top division titles, the FA Cup – the club’s first in 1965 – and three Charity Shields.

He made 454 appearances before leaving for Tranmere in 1971.

More than 400 of those appearances were as captain, with only Steven Gerrard leading the team on more occasions.

After signing Yeats from Dundee United in 1961, Shankly famously said to the media: “Walk around him. He’s a colossus.”

Asked about his greatest achievements at Anfield, Yeats once said: “Being the captain that took the club out of the Second Division after eight years was a very, very proud moment.

“To follow that by being the first captain of Liverpool to lift the FA Cup is something I am very proud of.

“I do not go round with the medals on my chest- it is just there for me to say.”

Yeats returned to Liverpool as chief scout in 1986 and eventually retired in 2006.

A Liverpool club statement said: “The thoughts of everyone at LFC are with Ron’s wife, Ann, all of his family and his friends at this incredibly sad time.”