'Allen reminds me of Ronnie'

In an exclusive chat with Liverpoolfc.com at Melwood, Marsh also had words of praise for Sebastian Coates's commanding display against Manchester City and explained how Adam Morgan is chomping at the bit for another first-team chance against Hearts in the Europa League on Thursday night.

First of all Mike, as a coach how much encouragement did you take from the performance against Manchester City?

I thought we played very well on the day and it was disappointing to concede so late on. I thought we dominated the game, particularly the second half when we scored a good goal from Luis's free-kick and we were looking to see the game out, but we can take a lot of positives. We played well against a top side.

That was Luis Suarez's first goal from a free-kick for Liverpool. He has gone so close in the past from set pieces, so how special was it to see this one go in?

He has been threatening to do that for a while and I didn't know that was his first free-kick goal for us. He does take quite a few in training - he's been practising hard and it paid off for him.

The lads deserved the three points, didn't they? What was the mood like in the dressing room after the game?

It felt like a defeat, to be fair. We played well and we wanted to see the game out and claim the three points but we also have to remember we were playing the league champions so they are not going to lie down and die. They managed to get themselves a point and we were disappointed, but we can't be too down on ourselves because it was a positive performance.

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Raheem Sterling caught the eye on his first start in the top-flight for Liverpool. Having worked with him at the Academy, how pleased were you to see him get his chance?

I was really pleased and he showed everyone what he can do. He has been playing like that for the U18s and reserves over the past two years so he has taken that on to the first team. We know he's got good natural ability and he has the confidence to show it on a bigger stage.

He was up against Kolo Toure - an experienced international player - on Sunday, but he certainly gave as good as he got...

He certainly did. Toure is a big strapping lad but that didn't phase Raheem. Size doesn't really matter as Raheem is a confident kid and he did well for us.

Another player to win the plaudits was Joe Allen - how has he settled into the club?

Joe has settled in really well and I think he has been our best player in the first two 90 minutes he has played for us - and long may that continue.

Joe fits the Liverpool passing traditions. He seems like he's been here all of his life, never mind just three games in a red shirt so far, doesn't he?

He is a very good player and he reminds me a little bit of Ronnie Whelan. For those of you who remember Ronnie, he was an underrated player at times and you didn't realise the good job he did for the team. Joe is very good defensively as well and when he gets the ball he uses it well.

Sebastian Coates made his first start of the season - how impressed were you with him?

He did well. It can be difficult sometimes coming into the games when you haven't played a lot of football but after the opening 20 minutes when he was a little bit rusty, he settled into the game well and got stronger as the game progressed.

He was up against Tevez and Balotelli, yet he wasn't phased by that. What does that tell us about him?

He has got a good attitude. He has good confidence in his own ability and don't forget he was up against David Silva who came on for the last 15 minutes as well. They are a talented side and he acquitted himself really well.

You go into Thursday's second leg against Hearts with a 1-0 advantage - it was certainly a hard fought victory up at Tynecastle, wasn't it?

It was and we know there are no easy games in football these days. People are tactically aware and you have to fight your corner. We went up to Scotland, fought our corner and managed to come away with a clean sheet.

What did you make of Hearts in the first game? They certainly put up a good fight, didn't they?

They are a decent side. They are a little bit different in their style to us but they put the ball in areas that make you defend and they make you fight for the game.

They are certainly not out of this tie yet - how important is it we don't underestimate them?

It's similar to the last round against Gomel when we brought them back to Anfield with a 1-0 lead. We were a little bit fortunate to come away with a 1-0 win from Belarus with the pressure that they had and the game in Scotland last week could have gone either way. We have an away goal but we will go into the game as though it's still 0-0 and hopefully we can see it through.

With Sunday's game looming against Arsenal as well, is it fair to expect the full squad being utilised over the next few days?

I would imagine so. We will probably have players playing in this game that played in the first leg. We have a squad of 25 players and we need to use them.

Is it near impossible these days to play the same team on a Thursday and then on a Sunday?

I think so. Some players can do it and some have the body for it but others haven't. That's why we have the sports science team who point us in the right direction and tell us which players are available for certain games.

How important is it for the club that we reach Friday's draw and the group stages of the Europa League?

It is vital. Liverpool Football Club should be playing in Europe every season. We have qualified for the Europa League this season and we want to get to the group stages.

It's also a good experience for the young players to represent the club in Europe, isn't it?

Yes and we saw that with Adam Morgan who came on to make his competitive debut for the club in the first leg and he will possibly be involved again in the second leg on Thursday. There's a chance if we do progress to the group stages then the young players might get another chance at a higher level.

You worked with Adam very closely at U18 level last season when he scored over 20 goals for the second season at Academy level. Just tell us a little bit about him...

For those that don't know a lot about Adam, you will see his personality shine through when he gets a chance. He's not a shrinking violet and you know he's about the place but Morgo is a goalscorer and he will get you goals. Scoring goals is a great skill to have and that's what he's good at - that's why he is training with the first team.

It must be fantastic for the young lads at the Academy to see a player from the U18 side last season now featuring for the first-team squad?

I'm sure it is. We've got Morgo, Raheem, Jon Flanagan and Jack Robinson training at Melwood with the first team so it's nice for me as well as there's a lot of players here who have been based at the Academy in the last couple of years. Hopefully with a bit of luck we will get one or two more up with us.

From a personal point of view how much are you enjoying working with Brendan Rodgers and the first-team squad at Melwood?

I'm loving every minute of it. He is a top-class coach and I'm trying to take in as much information as I can and develop more myself as a coach. I also give my little bits of information so we all work well together.

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