Academy column: Why we are winning

Our league season came to an end on Monday and although we couldn't quite manage to win the title there is a lot to be proud of at the Academy and what our boys have achieved this season. One huge moment that stands out is seeing Jordan Rossiter score on his debut against Middlesbrough at Anfield in the Capital One Cup, and Jordan Williams scoring in the penalty shootout in front of the Kop on his debut in the same game.

Our manager Brendan Rodgers gave Jerome Sinclair his Premier League debut at Chelsea last weekend and that was a great moment for us all, especially for Jerome after coming back from his loan spell with Wigan Athletic. We have also seen a number of our young players make their Football League debuts on loan this season which I also take from the season as a highlight. We have had players scoring their first goals in the football league, players being promoted, and relegated, playing in local derbies and infront of big crowds. Things that the boys have dreamt of doing as young players. All these experiences will help the boys greatly in their careers.

Another moment that stands out for me from the season was seeing Samed Yesil with a big smile on his face after scoring twice in our win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on April 17. It was a day you didn't think he was going to have because he has been so unfortunate to have suffered two bad cruciate injuries in the last two years, and he showed what he is all about that night. We also had two youngsters from the U18 team in Corey Whelan and Sam Hart who played that night and made the step up. There has been some really good moments looking back over the season.

We have had 33 young players from our Academy this season who have played at U21 level and I sat them all down this week and told them that all of them has trained with the first team more than 10 times this season. The manager knows all of their names and what they can do. There is a pathway for them at this club and for a young player that is fantastic. One of the most important roles in this job is about your one-to-one relationship with the players. They need to feel that they can trust you and know you are working for them and we have worked very hard on this.

I must express my thanks to Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Rob Jones for the outstanding work they have done with the boys and they are people these lads really look up to. We have also been fortunate to have had Fabrice Muamba and Salif Diao working with us and their experience is invaluable. We do a lot of individual work with the players and you need all of the staff speaking the same language and we do that well. This has been my first season as U21s manager and I have enjoyed it immensely. I have been very fortunate to have some fantastic people working to really help me.

Our Academy director Alex Inglethorpe is like a bigger brother to me and he has given me so much help and support. Having him overseeing things and popping his head in when he needs to, we support the players as best we can and they have responded really well. I am also really grateful to the support from our physios, Andy Renshaw and Richie Partridge, our goalkeeping coach Mark Morris and our head of fitness Andy O'Boyle. Brendan Mcilduff joined us from the Scottish FA and does a brilliant job as did Luke Murphy at the start of the season. These guys are fantastic people.

We were the top goalscorers in the Barclays U21 League by some way and that shows you our attacking intent. In our first game of the season away at Sunderland I played a 4-2-4 formation in the second-half because I wanted to send a message to the players early in the season, because I believe we have a lot of good attacking players. I wanted by the end of the season people speaking about this team and there was only one way we were going to do that, and that was by putting as many of those attacking players on the pitch as possible. They have all improved in their defensive work and their work ethic off the ball which is important, but the most important thing is they get lots of opportunity to run, dribble, cross and shoot without the fear of me telling them to pass the ball. If we are going to create the next [Philippe] Coutinho, [Raheem] Sterling or [Jordon] Ibe then you have got to give the players freedom.

Sometimes people can get carried away at youth level by looking at how many wins or points they have. I count it on how many wow moments we have had this season, because if you watch the Liverpool youth teams you have to come away being excited about one or two of the players in the team. We are winning in much more ways than picking up trophies. Two examples of that for the work we are doing here at the Academy has been Jordon Ibe and Joao Carlos Teixeira. Jordon did ever so well on loan at Derby County and then came back to play in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, and Joao had an excellent season with Brighton before he sadly suffered a broken leg.

Just because we have finished our league programme doesn't mean everyone goes on holiday now and the hard work continues at the Academy. This weekend we are heading to Terborg in Holland for an U19 tournament. We play two games today (Friday) against Atletico Mineiro of Brazil and PSV Eindhoven, before matches on Saturday with De Graafschap of Holland and Club Deportivo Guadalajara of Mexico. Playing further games in the tournament will depend upon how well we do in these group games but this is a fantastic experience for our boys. It's also a chance for us to try one or two things out because we are always thinking two steps ahead and have already got ideas on how we will develop the players further next season. We have used different formations this season which is important because Brendan does that with the first team, and it's imperative that the players understand their role and what they need to do should they get that call-up.