Academy column: This job is very rewarding

I have filled many different roles at the Academy since I started here in 2005 and it really is a unique and special place to work at. It was Steve Heighway who asked me to come to the club, initially on a part-time basis, and I worked alongside people like Karl Robinson, who is now doing a great job as manager of MK Dons, Mike Yates, Iain Brunskill, Steve Hollis and Ian Dawes. This is my 10th year working for the club I supported as a boy and the time has gone pretty quick, but I love every minute of it. During my time at the Academy I have headed up the Foundation phase, the youth development phase, worked with the U18s and now coaching with the U21s. I’ve coached players from the age of five through to 21, and it is very rewarding.

There are some brilliant people here at the Kirkby and that is what makes the Academy so special. Our Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has got everybody working together as one, we all work on the same page, and the faith the manager has had in giving young players an opportunity makes our job even more rewarding because ultimately that is what it’s all about. You can have the very best facility in the whole world but it is nothing without the players and the people. We try and create the perfect environment for the players every day they come in to work. We all want the same outcome at the Academy, and our goal is to push the players on to training at Melwood and then one day hopefully they will play for the first team. If we can’t do that, then we always want the best for the boys and we want to help them towards making a career in the game. You can only achieve that if everyone pushes in the same direction, and that is what Alex has done.

Sometimes in football working in youth development can be quite unrewarding but that is certainly not the case at this club. When you see one of the boys you have worked with here, whether that be 12 months, five years or even longer, make their first-team debut it really is a magical moment. It’s special because we know what it means to the boys and their families. It’s so hard to make it in the professional game but when the lads see some light at the end of the tunnel then it really does make your job easier. We saw Jordan Rossiter and Jordan Williams make their debuts last season and already this campaign we have seen Cameron Brannagan and Pedro Chirivella making their debuts for Liverpool in Europe. That is special and it makes you very proud. This is why we spend so many hours at the Academy with the boys.

I worked for two years with Neil Critchley with the U18s. Neil is a great guy and someone who came from a great footballing background at Crewe Alexandra. We had a great relationship and hit it off straight away. This season I moved up to join the U21s squad and work alongside Michael Beale and Tim Jenkins. I’m really enjoying it and making the move hasn’t been too difficult as I have worked with all of the boys with the U18s. The transition has been easy and pretty enjoyable as well. Michael is a great coach. He came to the club from Chelsea and he has a great coaching pedigree. We think alike on a lot of things, and when we plan the training sessions our ideas are similar in how we want to work.

It was brilliant to get our first win of the season on Monday when we beat Leicester City 2-1. We have a lot of players out on loan who are gaining invaluable experience so that has meant our squad has been tested, but the lads deserve great credit. Watching the game back, I thought we were terrific in the first half and then in the second period we had to dig in a bit because they stepped up the play and played with more intensity. We dug deep and got a bit of luck with the winning goal which is something we haven’t had this season. You have to credit first of all to Joao Carlos Teixeira, who refused to give up and kept the ball in play, and then Cameron Brannagan was there in the right place at the right time to deflect the ball into the net. It was nice for the lads to get the win.

To be fair, it has been really tough for the boys because in terms of the U21s fixtures it was 17 days since we last played Chelsea, and now we don’t play again until October 18 when we travel to Sunderland. The boys are working really hard on the training pitch but it’s difficult to find your rythmn when the games are spread out so much, so they deserve a lot of credit.

It was a great week for our exciting winger Sheyi Ojo who made a major impact for Wolves. He came on as a substitute and set up a goal and scored one himself as Kenny Jackett’s side beat Fulham 3-0. Sheyi is a very talented young boy and the experience he is getting in the Championship will be of great benefit to him in the future.

We feel it is important to visit our boys who are on loan, and we also talk regularly with them on the phone. It's important they don't feel detached from Liverpool because this is their club and we all want the lads to succeed. So when we see the likes of Sheyi making the impact he has it gives everybody a huge lift.