Spearing ready to stake claim
Jay Spearing says he is ready to stake his claim for a place in new manager Brendan Rodgers' starting XI and will work hard to prove his worth for the Reds.
The 23-year-old has faced tough competition throughout his career at Liverpool, vying with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva for a place in the team.
But the Scouser is determined to do all he can to convince Rodgers that he deserves a berth in midfield when the new season gets underway next month.
"I've had to compete with the likes of Stevie G and Lucas," Spearing said. "The likes of Xabi Alonso have been here and Javier Mascherano and we could probably go on for a long time about the number of players who have played in a similar position as me.
"I've just got to concentrate on myself, knuckle down and try to work hard to show the manager that, if needed, I'll be available."
The boss has discussed his transfer ambitions this week and the midfielder welcomed any potential additions at Anfield but warned that he will not be giving up his position easily.
Spearing, who has made 52 appearances in a Red shirt since making his debut in 2008, continued: "I'm at a club which has a worldwide reputation and I don't think there are going to be many players who are going to say they don't want to come to Liverpool.
"I've just been lucky enough to play for my boyhood team, who I've always supported. New players will come in; maybe some in the summer or maybe some in January but I'll just have to stake my claim and show the manager that he doesn't have to go and buy players in my position."
Rodgers is the fourth manager Spearing has played under and he explained that having a new man at the helm offers everybody a fresh opportunity to impress on the training ground.
"Recently there have been a few changes at the club and after every manager has come in it's been a clean slate. Not just for me as a young player but for the rest of the lads.
"Whenever a new manager comes in the criteria is that everybody's got to knuckle down and show the new manager exactly what they are all about.
"The manager has been giving different people different chances and it's a clean slate for everybody and we've all got to keep working hard and stay focused for the games ahead. We've got games in the Europa League coming soon and we've all got to be ready for that.
"Different managers have different types of sessions. They have different ideas about how they want to play. We have to learn quite quickly if we want to become a successful team. The Academy lads are up at Melwood with us training now and they are really showing what they are all about."
The first group of players began pre-season training back at the club last week ahead of a tour of North America, which begins on 21 July in Toronto, while the 2012-13 Barclays Premier League season kicks off on August 18.
Spearing cannot wait to get started and wants to use the build-up to make his mark on the manager: "We've all got to knuckle down and show the new manager exactly what we're capable of doing and we want to fight for our places.
"It's a new start and we're all working hard in each training session that we get and all the players are looking forward to the challenge. We've got four weeks now to get ourselves ready and we'll go into the pre-season to try and get some fitness."