Nikita Parris says Matt Beard “transformed” the women’s game in England when very few cared.

The former Liverpool boss passed away last weekend aged 47, with an outpouring of current and former players and clubs paying homage to the manager who also took charge of Chelsea and West Ham’s women’s sides.

London City Lionesses forward Parris, who came up against Beard teams on numerous occasions, said the two-time Women’s Super League winner made sacrifices for the women’s game when not many people cared about it.

“He transformed women’s football in England just through sheer wanting to and caring,” Parris said on the Pitch to Pod podcast.

“Not many people did when the game was getting watched by like 50 fans on a cow patch, there was not many people interested in the women’s game then and he continued to stay, to thrive.

“His family made sacrifices, he made sacrifices in order to push this game forward and I hope he’s honoured in the right way because he just totally deserves it.”

England legend Casey Stoney also shared her own personal tribute to Beard.

Stoney worked with Beard during his stint as Charlton coach. The pair also reunited at Chelsea, where after a brief spell as player-manager, Beard took over the Blues after being recommended by Stoney.

Reflecting on how Beard came to take over at Chelsea, Stoney said: “I played for him as an assistant coach then in 2009 when I was Chelsea manager as a player which was very difficult, I was preparing for a European Championships.

“I knew that I couldn’t do both and I picked up the phone to Matt and he was an estate agent which says everything because I’ll be honest, he could sell his granny to his granddad, that’s the type of person he was, he would have been a good car salesman.

“I said to him, we’ve got no money, we’ve got no resources, we’ve basically got nothing, but would you come and manage the team? And Matt being Matt, he said yes. He gave his life to the game, at times in really difficult periods.”

Stoney also recalls meeting Beard for the first time.

“He came in as this cheeky, cocky, young coach in Charlton,” Stoney said.

“I’ve got to be honest, the first week we were all like: ‘Who is this guy?’ Within a week, he had us all because he was just so personable.

“He was so cheeky, so funny but so caring and I think anyone that meets him, he just had a little cheeky sparkle in his eye.

“Taking his family out to Boston and his family probably suffered the most in terms of the amount of times they moved with the role and the job. The job I know best takes it out of you sometimes, it’s a lonely place sometimes and I think it’s something that he loved doing.

“When you think about the successes that he had, and how much he gave to the game, and the championships that he won at Liverpool with teams that really shouldn’t have won titles.

“He made people want to run through a brick wall from him, he galvanised people and individuals. And first and foremost, he was a friend, a really good friend and he will be really missed.”