Reds racing to win new friends

The four-team party of coaches, led by club ambassador Ian Rush, have been working with groups of children over the past couple of days, giving young kids who have perhaps never played football before the chance to enjoy themselves under the guidance of some of the game's best coaches and the greatest goalscorer in our history.

But it wasn't just on the field of the Rashid Stadium - where the clinics were held over the last 48 hours - where children were left with happy memories.

Ahead of the coaches - and the club's media team - arriving in Dubai on Thursday evening, Rush visited a local paediatric centre, with whom Standard Chartered work closely every year, donating money to help with the running of a school which caters for children with special needs.

"This is a school in Dubai for children who have learning difficulties and it is a school very close to all of our hearts, so to see the staff and kids so pleased when Ian walked into the room was great," said Richard Bowcott from Standard Chartered.

"They put on a great show for Ian's arrival. The children were dancing for him and there was also a fitness session which everyone enjoyed taking part in.

"We as a bank donate money to the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre every year and that's why we took Ian along, because we knew his presence there would make a difference for these kids."

The children all received specialised coaching clinics with the LFC staff on Friday afternoon, but it was the visit to the local school 24 hours earlier which started the process of ensuring Liverpool FC would live long in the hearts of all those involved.

"Some of these kids knew of Liverpool before through their parents, but others didn't," said Khalid Said, Sports and Recreational Coordinator at the Rashid Centre. "But now I can tell you Liverpool has more supporters than it did before you came along.

"This makes such a difference in the lives of these kids. Football is very popular out here and many of them enjoy sports, so for a club to come out here and spend time with them means so much.

"The visit to our centre was really exciting for everybody - for the staff as well as the kids - and then the coaching clinic a couple of days later was fantastic as well. I was a little nervous to begin with about how the session would go, but it was soon clear the Liverpool coaches knew what they were doing and understood how to work with all of the children. It was really excellent - I just wish you could come out here every week."

Here are some more snaps of Ian Rush's visit to the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre in Dubai.