'Title pressure? We just want the lads to enjoy it'
Barry Lewtas insists there is no added pressure on his players as Liverpool U18s bid to go top of the table when they host Derby County at the Academy on Friday night.
The young Reds sit just one point behind U18 Premier League leaders Everton, but have a game in hand over their neighbours and head into the meeting with fourth-placed Derby on a nine-match winning streak.
Kick-off in Kirkby will be at 7pm GMT - and you can watch the action live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.
Read on for U18s boss Lewtas' pre-game thoughts...
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On the U18s' return to action after the international break and the benefits of playing night games...
The night games are always a little bit different and hopefully we can get a few more people through the gate, which always adds to the atmosphere. We are really looking forward to it and it will be a tough challenge.
Playing evening games worked really well last year. It just makes the week leading up to it that little bit different. Modern-day football has a lot of midweek games at different kick-off times and at first it became apparent that all our home games were at 11am on a Saturday. That allowed us to be quite structured throughout the week so by moving some of our games to a Friday night it throws a little curveball in to the lads and also gives that a little bit of an atmosphere for the game itself.
On the chance to go top of the table…
To be fair, it's not something we have discussed as a group. We have just been going game to game and it seems to have worked. We have prepared well for every game and the boys have trained ever so well. In terms of any pressure, it's not something we have created in the building itself, we put pressure on ourselves to perform in each game. There's a lot of competition for places, which is certainly helping and training is very competitive, whether the boys are playing for points or just to keep that shirt. It's tough in terms of team selection and the boys are making it tough for me in terms of the way they are training, but that's what we want and it's good to see so many boys stepping up to the challenge and not moaning or whingeing. There's no pressure in terms of league positions coming from our camp itself.
On going head-to-head with Everton at the top…
It's great and the rivalry adds to it. The 4-3 win against them was a cracking game and Everton also played a big part in that. It would be great if both teams could keep going right through the season and then we will see what happens at the end.
On the challenge posed by Derby...
They have done ever so well and you always know you are in for a tough game against Derby. I remember playing at U16 level and Derby had our card for a number of games. They were tough, well organised and have got some good players. They have a good set-up and are well coached. The good thing is the boys know they are in for a tough test but, as always, we are excited and want to show what we are all about. We are going to have to be at our best. We will try to play the way we want to play and they will also certainly have to be at their best against us.
On nine straight wins at U18 level since defeat by Manchester United...
It is impressive. Someone mentioned it to me the other day and I thought 'wow!' To do that at any level and keep those levels of concentration and focus is very good. I do think we learned a lot from the Manchester United game. There were parts of it where you could say we were unfortunate at times but we weren't at our best and we knew that. We knew we needed to be better and improve, so credit to the lads. That defeat set us up well, especially after the opening day when we scored six at Sunderland.
On the possibility of some players making the step up to U23 level…
That's what I want. I would love it if some of our boys get the nod to play for the U23s and I then get the chance to move some more of our boys in to get their chance. That's been the message throughout. I know people mention the league, but the boys want to push on and get into Critch's [Neil Critchley] plans. Obviously the results and performances from us so far have been great and it's positive, but hopefully we can get boys moving up.