'I never look at the league table'
Analysing his side's position in the league table is not a primary concern for Alex Inglethorpe; the Liverpool U21s manager has rather different objectives for the youngsters under his stewardship.
With a hugely impressive 4-2 victory away from home at Arsenal on Monday, the young Reds established themselves in second place in the Barclays U21 Premier League standings.
Having scored an average of slightly more than three goals per game in their 11 matches to date, the high-flying U21s trail leaders Fulham by six points but have a fixture in hand on the Londoners.
These achievements are not the first thing Inglethorpe - who arrived at the club in November 2012 with a wealth of experience - will mention when he next catches up with Brendan Rodgers, however.
Instead, the coach will be keen to discuss the side's progress in successfully shaping players to be loaned out, with full-back Ryan McLaughlin the latest to attract interest from the Championship.
"To be honest, I never look at the league table," Inglethorpe explained to the Liverpool Echo.
"I base how well we're doing as a reserve team on the fact we've got Jack Robinson at Blackpool, Conor Coady at Sheffield United and Ryan McLaughlin at Barnsley.
"I hope some of the other older boys will also go out on loan. That may seem an unusual situation as normally you want to keep your best players, but we have a transient group here.
"I want to see our players attracting interest from clubs and gaining experience elsewhere. It's just a case of ensuring it's the right environment for them and making sure we retain enough boys so we're able to put a team out."
Next to depart on a temporary basis could be striker Michael Ngoo, who added his name to the scoresheet twice when Inglethorpe's charges stunned the Gunners earlier this week.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a fruitful period with Scottish side Hearts last season and his boss is eagerly anticipating another opportunity for the Englishman to gain further experience.
"I'd be delighted to see Michael go out on loan," the U21s manager continued.
"He deserved those goals against Arsenal and I was really pleased for him. He has worked really hard in training to prepare himself correctly and he's benefiting from that."
Expanding on the win at Arsenal, he added: "We had a young team out but I thought we were terrific. We certainly didn't show any fear and we enjoyed more than our fair share of the ball.
"The players worked extremely hard. They pressed at the right times and most importantly we retained our style and tried to dominate possession."
The conveyor belt from the Academy to the senior set-up has been in overdrive during 2013-14, with Cameron Brannagan, Jordan Rossiter, Brad Smith and Danny Ward all named in first-team squads.
Australian-born defender Smith also made his professional debut when he featured in the final 30 minutes of the Reds' Barclays Premier League clash at Chelsea in December.
"It gives the boys great encouragement," reflected Inglethorpe. "This is a club any young player would want to be at. It's one where there are always opportunities if someone is doing well.
"Some clubs have enough senior players to field three teams but we don't operate like that. The young players here know if they are working hard and improving, they will get chances."