'Gary O'Neil has so much experience - he's helping us a lot'
Elijah Dixon-Bonner has welcomed the arrival of Gary O'Neil at Liverpool and believes he can learn plenty from the U23s' new assistant coach.
Former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough midfielder O'Neil arrived at the Academy to work alongside new new U23s manager Barry Lewtas during close-season and has made a positive impression on the Kirkby training pitches.
The young Reds began their Premier League 2 season by beating Everton 1-0 last Sunday and Dixon-Bonner stated that confidence is high in the camp ahead of Friday evening's behind-closed-doors clash with Derby County - a game you can watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO from 6.50pm BST.
Read on for our pre-match interview with midfielder Dixon-Bonner…
They are great guys and really help the lads. I’ve known Barry since I was young, so it’s nice to be working with him. Barry is such a nice guy as well, so the team gels well with him. Gary as well, he has just settled in straight away. He gets on well with the lads and he’s a good player as well still, so it’s been nice. Gary has a lot of experience, so he has helped me a lot and helped the players and tells us what to do in different scenarios.
On the opening-day win against Everton…
We played really well. Everton are always a tough opponent but we coped well. We got the goal early and we just grafted throughout the game, we matched their intensity and it was good to come away with the win.
LFCTV GO: Watch highlights of the mini-derby win
On taking the captain’s armband when he came on as a substitute for Ben Woodburn…
It’s nice. Obviously there’s younger boys coming up, so you’ve got to make sure you are helping them out. I know what it was like being their age, so it’s nice to be able to help them and we have a good team bond. There’s a good few leaders in this team and a lot of personalities and leaders who are willing to help each other and help the team.
On getting back to competitive action…
It has been good. It was hard being away for so long but once we came back we got straight down to work, got the fitness back – which was the hard part – and it’s just been good to be back amongst the lads. Being away from the game for so long made me realise how much I love to play football.
On Friday night’s encounter with Derby…
Derby are a tough team and we are going to have to be at our best, but I believe if we play well and match their intensity we can pose a lot of problems for them.
On his hopes and aspirations for 2020-21…
Just to keep doing what I’m doing and to have fun really. That’s what I like to do, I like to have fun playing football just like I’m a little kid! I want to get more goals and more assists.
On playing in the EFL Trophy again, with Liverpool to face senior teams Wigan Athletic, Tranmere Rovers and Port Vale…
It’s a tough competition to be in playing against more experienced players. We did have good spells in it last season and we have got a good team, so I feel we can definitely challenge. The most important thing is we keep our identity as a team and match the intensity. We are a good team and we’ve come up against experienced players before and we know how to cope.
On the return of Paul Glatzel and Abdi Sharif to the squad following their long-term injuries…
It’s great to see them back. It’s obviously been really tough for both of them. They did their rehab and I was in and around them watching them every day. They had ups and downs but they are back, fit and ready to play and training well. I’m sure when their opportunity comes around they will take it. It’s just nice to see them with smiles on their faces, which is the main thing.