'Coutinho impact no surprise to us'
Colin Pascoe has hailed Philippe Coutinho's encouraging start to life at Anfield - but insists he's not been left surprised by the Brazilian's instant first-team impact.
The 20-year-old followed up a goal on his first start for the Reds against Swansea with two assists in last weekend's emphatic 4-0 victory at Wigan Athletic.
Pascoe, however, claims Coutinho's form was not unexpected by the Melwood backroom team.
"Philippe has been brilliant," the assistant manager told Liverpoolfc.com.
"He is a quiet, young lad and it must be hard for him because he doesn't speak much English - and I can't help him as he doesn't speak Welsh either! But with Luis, Lucas, Sebastian and Fabio you have Spanish and Italian, and he can speak that.
"I'm not surprised by his impact so far as we knew how good a player he was. He's got a good eye, he's got a good awareness of where his teammates are and that's what he's picked up very quickly.
"He got two assists at Wigan. The one he crossed for Stewart Downing's goal with two wingers combining was fantastic, and his goal against Swansea was superb.
"He wants to get into the box and he wants to score goals. If the opportunity is there for a pass he will make the right decision whether to shoot or pass and that's the sign of a good player.
"He has been brilliant for us."
Liverpool will go into Sunday's clash with Tottenham Hotspur in fine form after hitting 12 goals in their last three games.
Pascoe admits it has been satisfying to see the players beginning to implement the attacking style of football that Brendan Rodgers has brought to Anfield.
He explained: "It's always hard when you implement a new style and it takes time to get used to it, but with the way the lads have been playing it has been fantastic.
"Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho came in January and they have gelled well with the rest of the lads.
"The lads have been fantastic and every day they are working hard on the style, the tactical and technical style of their game, and good positioning, pressing and passing the ball better.
"You look at the 5-0 win against Swansea, 4-0 versus Wigan - both high scoring games and we could have even scored more with the way we played. We also played Arsenal and Manchester City and dominated them and were unlucky not to beat them."