'Our manager always provides a pathway for young players'
Liverpool U23s boss Barry Lewtas has challenged his young players to keep working hard and adjust to the physical demands of Premier League 2.
With a number of players heading out on loan, opportunities have arrived for many of the team that helped the club reach the FA Youth Cup final last season.
Indeed, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton have had a week to remember so far as they joined 16-year-old Kaide Gordon in making their first-team debuts in Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Norwich City in the Carabao Cup, while U18s midfielder James Balagizi was on the bench.
“It was fantastic to see Conor, Kaide and Tyler make their debuts and James also being part of it,” Lewtas told Liverpoolfc.com. “Our manager always provides a pathway for the young players and it is fantastic to see.
“It’s just a start for the boys but it will mean a lot to them and their families and the hard work continues for them.”
Lewtas’ charges are back in Premier League 2 action tonight when they take on Chelsea at Kingsmeadow.
Following back-to-back defeats in the division by Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United, the young Reds will be hoping to bounce back in style against a Chelsea side currently sitting bottom of Premier League 2.
Ahead of the 7pm BST kick-off, which you can watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO, read on as Lewtas reflects on the start to the campaign so far…
On operating with a young squad in 2021-22…
We have got a young team but obviously what comes with that is it’s exciting. There will be some ups and downs along the way. But in terms of the work-rate they are putting in and how hard they are working, hopefully it will be an exciting season.
On some of the youngsters from the FA Youth Cup team last season making the step up to Premier League 2 level…
It is a big step up at this level because you don’t know who you are going to go up against. You can play against a younger team or an older team with first-team players who are dropping down. Every team in this league approaches it a little bit differently but for us, we are just really clear on how we want to approach it. Hopefully it’s going to be a really challenging season because that’s what the players need, they need a challenge every week and in every game. It’s an exciting league because you never know what you are going to quite come up against. We are missing a few players, too. Layton Stewart is continuing his rehabilitation, Tom Hill is working his way back from a long time out, and Jarell Quansah got injured in pre-season as well. It’s part of the game but it never makes it any easier in terms of those boys who are desperate to get back out on the pitch again. They are in good hands and they are working extremely hard. I pop into the treatment room and speak to them quite often, so they are certainly not forgotten here and they will be back.
On the importance of being patient with the younger players as they adjust to coping with the extra physical demands at U23 level…
It is more physical at this level compared with what the boys have been used to and I noticed that in my first game in charge of this team, which was against Everton! I realised pretty quickly the change in the level and the speed of the game – and I think that’s the key bit really, the speed of the game. We want to try to get on the ball and we want to try to develop players in the right way. But I think a few of the boys are maybe used to having a lot of time on the ball, and they are not getting that time at this level. That’s why we have got to try to keep the level of our game as high as we can and in every game we want to be the best version of ourselves, but we also want to play the best version of the opposition as well and keep that challenge high.
On a much-changed line-up this season, with the likes of previous U23s regulars Leighton Clarkson and Jake Cain going out on loan to Blackburn Rovers and Newport County respectively…
I feel like I’ve lost my right-hand men there with Leighton and Jake going out on loan! It was the right opportunity for them. That’s what we want to do for the players and that was the next step in their development. They have done their time with the U18s, the U23s and the next step is to play in the Football League. It’s someone else’s turn now. While it is a younger group we have this season, now is their time and this is their opportunity. There has got to be a little bit of patience but that doesn’t mean we lessen the demand and it doesn’t mean we can take our foot off the gas as our expectations are very high. We do need to be patient but we need to keep working at the speed of our game as well.
On the challenge of facing Chelsea in Premier League 2 tonight…
It’s another tough game. I will say, you look at the fixture list in Premier League 2 and there’s never an easy game. We had two really good games against Chelsea last season and they will test us tactically, technically and athletically. The lads are really excited and looking forward to this one. I will be looking for a response from the boys from the Leeds United game. They had a very strong and experienced team and it was a tough afternoon for us, but there are certainly certain areas we can get better in. We can’t control the opposition but we know we can be better in certain moments than we were against Leeds. We definitely want improvement, so let’s see how we go on Friday night.