'I've loved every minute of being back at LFC'

The 38-year-old has personal experience of attempting to achieve the dream of representing the Reds at senior level, having joined the club at the age of 12.

Danns decided against agreeing a scholarship with Liverpool, though, and embarked on a lengthy - and still active - career with a variety of clubs in English football.

The Scouser also plays for Guyana internationally and is not ready to hang his boots up just yet, as he hopes to feature in a tournament for his country in the summer.

He has simultaneously taken his first steps into coaching after being invited by Academy director Alex Inglethorpe to help the U13s and U14s group at the start of the season.

We recently caught up with Danns to discuss his interesting football journey so far, his return to Liverpool and more. Read the chat below...

On his spell with Liverpool as a youngster…

I first came to Liverpool as a player when I was about 11 or 12, pretty young. It was a funny story how I ended up at Liverpool, to be honest. I used to go to a youth club that was local to me and I remember the guy saying he was a scout for Liverpool. He told me the times when I should turn up at Melwood. I remember randomly turning up at Melwood one day and the first person I saw was Steve Heighway. He asked me who had sent me here and I just said 'Roy, from the Rods!', the Rodney, and he asked me who Roy was! They didn't have a clue who I was, I didn't know who I was meant to speak to, and I literally just turned up. They said to me then, we'll be out training at 5.30pm so we'll have a look at you. After my first session they asked to see my dad and then I ended up signing for Liverpool. It was a funny one because I had also had trials at Everton but I had a bad accident where I tore my Achilles when I was only 11 and I got it caught in a bike! I went to Everton after being out for three months but they never got back to me so I thought my chance had gone and I was never going to be a footballer. Two months later I strolled up to the Academy and somehow got in!

On the reasons he left the club…

I was at the FA national school with the likes of Michael Owen, Andy Cole, Jermain Defoe; Joe Cole was the year above. I remember everyone at the national school were getting their pro contracts. A few of the lads [at the Academy] had been offered pro deals and I got offered a three-year scholarship, which I was a little bit disappointed with at the time. Obviously now, looking back, it's always been a regret of mine that I did leave but I think at that time I thought it meant they didn't rate me. How it turned out was I was a bit of a late developer and they didn't know how I was going to mature physically and stuff like that. The opportunity came for me to sign for Blackburn Rovers and Graeme Souness was their manager at the time. They showed a little bit more belief in me, I think, at that time. But, that's football and it can go many different ways. I do have a little bit of regret but not too much because I went on to make my Premier League debut, UEFA Cup debut, so Blackburn was a good start for me.

On how he would sum up his playing days…

When I look back now, I'm just thankful that I was given the opportunity. Like many young players, we all grow up wanting to be professional footballers and we grew up playing football on the street, so from when I was 12 to where I am now, I just look back and am thankful. Career-wise, I've been blessed to play for some great clubs, I had five promotions and played international football for Guyana. I look back with fond memories and I'm just grateful.

On the managers he got the chance to play under, including Souness, Steve Bruce, Neil Warnock, Neil Lennnon, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Nigel Pearson…

So many managers have different ways, to say the least! You've got some ranters and ravers, you have some quiet ones, but you take a piece from each one of them and they have all got their own strengths and have had fantastic careers. It was a privilege to play under every one of them and sometimes it might not go the way you want it to with not being in the team, but looking back now I appreciate why they made those decisions. At the time when we are all young and full of beans and you are knocking on that door, looking back I cringe at myself for some of the chats I had, but you learn from them.

On continuing his playing career at the moment at the age of 38…

I had a little spell with Halifax but the commute was too much, so at the moment I'm just training and keeping myself fit. I've had a few offers in the Conference North so I'm just weighing up the options. At international level, we've qualified for the Gold Cup prelims in the summer so I want to stay fit so I can be involved in that.

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On how a return to Liverpool and the Academy came about…

My son has been at the Academy since the age of eight and he's just turned 15 now, so I've been a regular visitor to the Academy watching him play and every session that he trains in. The Academy have always asked me to come in and help the kids. I would say probably five or six years ago I probably wasn't ready for that as I was too focused on my own career and there wasn't enough time for me to do some coaching. This season I was asked to come in and gain a bit of experience. I've loved every minute of it. I've been working with Dave Shannon, Mike Yates, Steve Heighway, Nick Marshall and it's been brilliant.

The pace these kids play at, though, I'm blowing after a session! I've really enjoyed just seeing the game for the innocence again. When you have a long career like I've had, you get lost in the game sometimes with the pressures, the business side of it and moving around to different clubs. This just takes me back to see when it was just about football and enjoying it. I see that with these kids at the Academy. They are all just enjoying the game and developing really well and that's a massive thing. I'm blessed to have my oldest son here at the Academy. He's been injured for a couple of months and I can see his frustration but that tells me how good the Academy is, because he's just desperate to return and play football. That's what I loved about Liverpool's Academy when I was starting out.

On his interest in being a coach going forward…

One hundred per cent. Before I came back to Liverpool and the Academy I had never done any coaching and, if I'm being honest, I wasn't totally sold on this is what I want to do. But coaching is something I really love doing and I get a buzz from it, so that will be something I will definitely be heading towards that route.

On the advice he would give to young players coming through the Academy…

Enjoy the game, work your socks off and you've got an opportunity there that so many people wish they had. Just grab it with both hands and every day look in the mirror and say you did all you could to do what you love.