Gerard Houllier believes the best could still be yet to come from Aston Villa's Emile Heskey even though the striker will be 33 next month.
Heskey has been revitalised since his former Liverpool boss Houllier took charge at Villa Park three months ago.
He had scored three goals in six games before suffering a knee injury and added to that tally in his comeback appearance against West Brom on Saturday.
But Houllier believes Heskey has the desire to still improve even after nearly 15 years in the game.
Houllier said: "Emile is a player that all the time needs confidence.
"He has got the confidence of his team-mates and he is a likeable person.
"When he was at Leicester, I recruited him (for Liverpool) so I know what he is capable of.
"Don't forget, he hadn't played for a long time before yesterday (six weeks) because he had this knee operation.
"When you come back from an operation, to bring that sort of performance to the team, is tremendous."
Houllier added: "Is there more to come from Heskey? There is no age to stop you making progress.
"You can progress at any time providing you have got the energy, physical and mental energy.
"He has got both of those, I can tell you. He likes the club, he likes his team-mates, he is a lovable person."
Houllier would have seen reports claiming a training ground bust-up involving defender Richard Dunne, himself and assistant manager Gary McAllister.
Dunne, who was axed for Saturday's win over the Baggies, is reported to have criticised both training and tactics at the club.
Houllier has yet to respond to these claims but he was full of praise for the character and togetherness of his players in ending a four game losing streak.
He said: "It was a great response in terms of what we had to deal with in terms of pressure.
"The boys showed great character and were mentally strong and there was a lot of togetherness. You could feel that, which is very important.
"It was a turning point because, after four defeats on the trot, you know confidence wouldn't be at the highest level.
"But winning and sometimes having to dig in and suffer together is good."
Goals from Stewart Downing and Heskey put Villa in control before Paul Scharner's late consolation for Albion.
