'We need to make sure we convert more chances'

The young Reds are in Premier League 2 action tonight when they face Manchester United in a behind-closed-doors fixture at Leigh Sports Village, with kick-off set for 7pm BST.

After beginning their league campaign with a win over Everton, Lewtas’ charges suffered a 2-1 loss at Derby County last Friday when a failure to convert good chances cost them.

An U21s group led by Lewtas then suffered a 6-1 loss to a strong Wigan Athletic XI in the EFL Trophy group stage earlier this week.

Despite that heavy defeat, morale is high in the camp and Liverpool will aim to respond against United in a game you can watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO, with our coverage starting at 6.30pm.

Read our pre-match interview with Lewtas below...

On the start to 2020-21…

We are on a run of five away games, so certainly at these times it makes it a little bit more difficult. But, listen, overall a good start. I think the performance against Everton had a bit of everything. We played well and we dug in at the times we had to. They were a lot older than us and more experienced but I thought we dug in and defended well and also played some good football. At Derby County we were disappointed with a 10-minute spell when we conceded a couple of goals. We chased the game at the end but that’s the way it is.

The Wigan one was a game of two halves. I thought we were really good in the first half and played as good as we’ve played so far and I was really pleased. Then the second half, there’s certain things we can’t control, which is why we entered the competition; they put on experienced players and there were maybe a few mismatches from a physical point of view, but we were disappointed with the goals we conceded. I thought we could have done better, but that’s why we entered the competition. Certainly not to get beat as heavily as we did, but we said to the boys certain areas of that game were a real learning experience for them and we certainly learned a lot. The first half was actually a testament to how well we played because in the second half they put on a combined total of players who have made 635 league appearances at senior level.

We are a young group and that’s the way we want it to be. It’s no excuse, we want to keep the group as young as we can and try to give them as much experience as we can. I look at Morgan Boyes, who is on loan at Fleetwood Town and played against Everton on Tuesday night. Morgan had the experience of playing in the EFL Trophy last season with us and also played in the Aston Villa game [in the Carabao Cup]. So although it would have been a big night for Morgan to play against Everton, he has had that exposure that we’ve been able to provide, and hopefully in a year’s time we will have other stories like Morgan.

On Abdi Sharif completing 90 minutes at the DW Stadium following his return from an ACL injury…

Abdi has been out for a long time and we were keen to get him in. I know right-back is not his No.1 position but he is a versatile character and he does have the technical ability to play there. So, it was a good opportunity for him to play 90 minutes and that was a real plus for us. It’s always sad when a young boy has a long-term injury and it’s a real marker for Abdi that he has managed to play 90 minutes. It will be a little bit slow for him and we can’t just rush him back, but getting 90 minutes under his belt against first-team opposition will do him the world of good.

On Friday night’s Premier League 2 clash at Manchester United…

They are always big games and it would be wrong of me to kind of highlight games above other ones, but I think the Liverpool v Manchester rivalry is there. It’s certainly one that the boys know it’s there as well so it’s a game we are really looking forward to. We know it will be different to the games we’ve played so far, which will be good, and it should make for a really exciting game.

On memorable games against United at U18 level in past seasons, including the 4-3 win over their arch-rivals in Kirkby last term...

The 4-3 win was a great game and there was still the token red card as well. That will be important, that we control what we control and control our emotions and make sure we play the game with 11 players. Looking back over the years with the U18s, we had some results that went our way and others not, but in terms of the level of the game, players have moved on to play for the first team of both clubs. It just shows you what calibre of fixture it is.

On the influence and consistency of Jake Cain and Leighton Clarkson in midfield…

They have both started really well. Jake has weighed in with two goals, which is important because I think in terms of his identity and what he wants to become he needs goals, assists, numbers if you like. So, a real pleasing start for Jake. I thought against Wigan he managed to get into the box a number of times as well and his forward running was excellent, so a really positive start. Jake scored a fantastic goal at Derby with the free-kick. It was quite a way out and it was one of them that as soon as he hit it you knew it was in! In all of the games, Leighton has managed to keep a real control of the game for us. The games have been played at his pace and Leighton’s pace tends to be our pace and how we want to play.

On wanting a more clinical edge from his team in the final third to match the fine approach play…

We have spoken to the boys about that and I think we are in the infancy of trying to develop something as a group. We haven’t been perfect but there have been lots of positives so far, both in and out of possession. We have created some really good chances but the real sticking point is we haven’t converted them. Even against Everton, 1-0, they were still in it right until the end and we needed to be more clinical in that game, and certainly against Derby and Wigan it was the same. Scoring when you are on top is really important. We were on top against Derby for most of that game but once they got into the lead they are a really tough nut to crack, so credit to them. We need to make sure with the good football that we are playing and the chances that we are creating, we need to make sure we convert more chances.

On a testing time for the young players with games being played every few days…

On top of the long break we had off, it is a good test for them in terms of what the next step looks like, playing three games a week. At the minute we are operating with a smaller U23s group so we are having to patch a few up a little bit and push them, but that’s all part of it as well. It’s something we are excited by and it’s not something we are worried about. We want to play game after game and we do believe the more games we play, I do feel we will solve more of the issues that we’ve got, like converting chances. That will come.