'Layton Stewart is doing really well and we're all pleased for him'
Liverpool U23s boss Barry Lewtas has spoken of his delight for Layton Stewart after seeing the striker get off the mark in Premier League 2.
The 18-year-old grabbed his first in the division at Chelsea and then followed that up with another superb finish in last Saturday’s 4-0 win over Arsenal.
Stewart has been at the Academy since the age of five and has worked with Lewtas for a number of years at various age groups.
The forward played his part in a fine team display against the Gunners, with Ben Woodburn and Jake Cain (two) also on the scoresheet.
The U23s are back in action on Sunday in a Premier League 2 meeting with Derby County at the Academy, with kick-off set for 1pm GMT.
Ahead of the game, we caught up with Lewtas, who reflected on recent performances and explained why U23s captain Ben Woodburn is back to his best…
On a fine display against Arsenal…
We have scored a lot of goals this season and been on the wrong end of a result. We have also had a few sore losses as well, and apart from a few games I feel the performances have been there. We had to tighten up parts of our game, which I think we have done, and I was so pleased with the boys against Arsenal. In possession I thought the work-rate and the quality of the pressing was fantastic. I always joke with the lads that we move the magnets round and we tell them where to go but it’s their mentality to do it. We even had eight minutes of added-on time at the end of the game and we were pressing them right until the very end. It just shows how hard the boys work, it shows the mentality that they have and how hard they want to work for the club.
On new stopper Liam Hughes keeping a clean sheet on his Premier League 2 debut…
That was nice for Liam. He has come here from Celtic and, with a few injuries that we have, we’ve thrown him in. He has trained really well and the lads know he is a good goalkeeper. I thought his performance was excellent.
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On Stewart getting off the mark in Premier League 2 with two goals in two games…
Layton is doing well and I’m pleased for him. Ben Woodburn’s press for the first goal was fantastic. Ben was fantastic all game but Layton was close behind him. What was behind the press was really important and Layton struck the ball really well. Layton has got that quality in front of goal to score goals and the last two games he has shown the work-rate and the level we want to see from him week in, week out.
On Cain finding the net on a regular basis, taking his tally to the season to seven goals so far…
Numbers are a big part of Jake’s identity – scoring goals and creating. His first goal was a fantastic finish and a big moment in the game for us.
On Woodburn’s promising displays…
To be fair, Ben is getting stronger and sharper and he kind of reminded me of where he was before he went out on loan. I remember his performance against Manchester United away when he had a real intensity to his game and was full of drive. That’s something we want to try to get out of Ben and I feel with the more games he is getting, more 90 minutes, I think we are getting there. He set the press for us against Arsenal and led from the front, along with Layton and Elijah Dixon-Bonner.
On 17-year-old Conor Bradley making one of the tackles of the season on Reiss Nelson…
Whenever the opposition have had a senior player, they’ve been up against Conor! I don’t think he’s had a break all season and, to be fair, you could see Nelson’s quality out there, but I thought Conor did really well. As much as we talk about pressing, running back is a big part of the game as well and Conor put him under pressure and won the ball.
On supporting the U18s, who had beaten Everton earlier in the day…
A great day for the Academy. We came in early and watched the game and it was great to see the boys come in early, too – Layton and Tyler Morton watched the whole game. I’ve mentioned this before, although it is two separate teams, we are one Academy. We all work together and we were made up with that win and then it was our job to come in and put a performance in and I think we did that.