The great and the good of women’s football were among hundreds of mourners who said an emotional farewell to former Liverpool manager Matt Beard at his funeral service.

Beard, who led the Reds to successive Women’s Super League titles in 2013 and 2014, died on 20 September at the age of 47.

The Beard family and friends were joined by leading figures from across women’s football, including United States boss Emma Hayes, for the mass at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

“Please, please, please let Matt’s passing be a lesson to us all,” his brother Mark, the former Millwall and Sheffield United midfielder, said during the service.

“We are only human.”

He added: “Mark had a beautiful soul and a one-in-a-million personality. He always found a way to make you laugh and smile.”

Beard’s wife, Debbie, children Harry and Ellie, step-son Scott, and mother Margaret were joined at the service by Liverpool’s first-team squad, along with manager Gareth Taylor and his coaching staff, and sporting director Richard Hughes.

Players who played under Beard – affectionately known as ‘Beardy’ to family and friends – formed a guard of honour inside the cathedral as his coffin, draped in two red and white scarves, arrived.