Marsh issues quick start warning
Liverpool must avoid a repeat of the slow start which proved costly at Southampton two weeks ago if they are to claim three points at Aston Villa on Sunday, according to first-team coach Mike Marsh.
The Reds conceded within five minutes at St Mary's earlier this month and, despite a Philippe Coutinho strike on the stroke of half-time, were beaten 3-1 by the Saints.
Marsh accepted that the south coast side were deserved winners on the day and insisted that Brendan Rodgers' men simply have to improve against a team who were victorious at Anfield in December.
"We have to start better. I'm sure after what happened at Southampton, the players will be champing at the bit to start the game well," he told Liverpoolfc.com.
"We did start the game well against Aston Villa; we could have been two or three up before they actually scored. Once they scored at Anfield, we struggled to get back into the game and they were well worth the win.
"After they scored the goal, they were comfortable victors. Revenge isn't a word that you want to use but I don't think it was a result that many expected on the day at Anfield.
"We would like to reverse the result to put a positive slant on it."
An interesting name among the squad which travelled to Southampton was that of 17-year-old Jordon Ibe - who may have been handed a debut had the match gone in Liverpool's favour.
Marsh continued: "Raheem Sterling had a stomach bug so he never travelled down; Jordon is a pretty similar player to Raheem - young, exuberant and plays in a wide area.
"We thought we would go like-for-like and if we did need to make a change, it was a possibility we could get him on the pitch. It was a good opportunity.
"If you manage to get ahead in the game, possibly winning the game comfortably, you can blood one or two youngsters and give them a bit of experience. Obviously the way the game panned out, it wasn't to be."
Current figures show that Liverpool have selected the youngest team on average in the Barclays Premier League during 2012-13 - a rewarding statistic for the coaching staff.
"It's an ongoing discussion. We've had the U18s and U21s up this week - we can see how much they've progressed because they have been coming up on a regular basis throughout the season," said Marsh.
"We discuss whether they should be coming up on a more regular basis and are they ready to step up a level?
"The experience that the players are getting at this young age should benefit us in the future, but we also understand that young sides are prone to making mistakes and we do need experience in there at times.
"If we can get one or two bodies in to help us in that department, it would be great."