Lee Trundle provides view from opposition

Trundle, who grew up in Huyton supporting Everton before turning professional at the age of 24, is currently a Swansea ambassador and youth coach.

He scored 86 goals in a four-season spell at the club between 2003 and 2007 - and so he's perfectly placed to provide us with an insight into tonight's opponents.

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Lee, before we get on to Swansea - the club where you made your name and the one you currently work for - tell us a bit about yourself and life growing up in Huyton...

Growing up as a young lad living in Liverpool, football is your life and it's all you do. I don't want to sound old here, but it wasn't all about computer games back then. It was out of the door at 9am and stay out on the field until 7pm that night. I think most of the lads who grew up then were exactly the same. You lived and breathed football.

Huyton has produced so many footballers down the years - any inclination as to why this might be?

I'm not sure. It's only a small place as well. You've got Peter Reid, Steven Gerrard, Tony Hibbert, Joey Barton, David Nugent and many more. There are players who are still playing at the top level now who have come from Huyton. But I think Liverpool, in general, produces great players. It also produces players who perhaps should have gone on to be professionals instead of just dropping out the league. Liverpool is a place for talent.

Picking up your story then. Where did you go from being a young lad in Huyton playing on the field with friends?

I probably did it the hard way. I played in every non-league, the Unibond, the Conference, League of Wales - every single one of them. Initially, I think it was down to my own attitude that I played in those divisions. My heart wasn't in it and I never used to take training seriously. Sometimes I just wouldn't turn up for training or games. It wasn't until my daughter was born that I decided to change my attitude and it took off from there.

Just for the sake of anyone out there reading, who never had the chance to watch you play, what sort of a player were you?

I was probably like a Matt Le Tissier or someone like that. I never ran about much but when I got the ball I liked to try different things. I would shoot from angles that people wouldn't shoot from, I would try tricks people wouldn't try. I think what helped that was the way I grew up playing football on the playground; trying different things. You go to a club now and maybe at a young age they coach that spirit out of you because it is about passing the ball and keeping the ball. 

Everything started to take off for you at Swansea...

I started well at Wrexham first of all because in my first four games for them I scored seven goals. This was coming from the League of Wales into League One, which at the time was a big step. But I found playing with better players around me helped. You get better quality balls played in to you, you play on better pitches and so it started off well for me at Wrexham. But it took off for me at Swansea. The likes of Soccer AM came down to Swansea and I'd be on their showboating feature and that opens you up to the UK really.

Tell us a bit about Garry Monk, who you played with at Swansea. What's he like as a person?

He's a bit of a joker. When he was a player he was the captain and he was always someone who influenced the dressing room. He was a strong character, but he would always be the type of character who would be messing around and having a joke. Going into management you can't be like that and you have to change a little bit, but he is a very strong character.

Just how good a job has he done at Swansea City?

Brilliant. I think at the start of the season a lot of people picked Swansea to be down at the bottom and to maybe get relegated. They lost Michu, who was their main striker at the time, but I said at the start of the season I thought this could be our best finish in the Premier League. I have seen what Garry has done behind the scenes. He took over from Michael Laudrup and they are two different characters. I'd seen the work Garry was putting in. I'm lucky to go down to the training ground every day and see the lads play and watch what they do. What he was setting in place for them, you could tell it was more structured and tell that they were going to have a great season.

Did you see much of a young Joe Allen during your time at Swansea?

Yes, I saw a lot of Joe. He was always up training with the first-team squad and Joe was a great talent. He was one of those players - even though he was a young lad and playing with players a lot older than him, if someone gave the ball away, he would be giving them a bit of stick and saying keep hold of the ball! I like that. I think you've got to bring that out of the young lads to let them have confidence. When he signed for Liverpool it was a dream-come-true for him. On his first night here he was staying at the Hope Street Hotel, so I met up with him and we had a bite to eat. He was excited to get the move and I think the longer he has been with Liverpool, he has grown as a player.

You saw Brendan Rodgers at Swansea and you've followed him during his time here. Has he changed at all?

I don't think he's changed as a person or in terms of his style of play. If you look at the start of this season, Brendan lost a player like Luis Suarez and then had to deal with having Daniel Sturridge out injured. If that happens in any team, you're going to have problems. To lose them was a massive blow. Something Brendan is very strong at is his man-management. The way he speaks to players and gets the best out of them. You've got to be tactically aware, but if you can relate to players you'll get the best out of them. You're seeing that this season with the likes of Coutinho and Jordan Henderson stepping up. They are becoming big players for Liverpool and are making an impact.

You were renowned for your showboating skills as a player. We've got to ask, therefore, what you've been making of Coutinho recently...

He's the type of player I love watching. Any football fan, if you go to a game, you want to see something different from a player. Any professional player can get the ball and pass it and while that's a massive part of the game, you also need players in there who, when they get on the ball, you don't know what's going to happen and you're on the edge of your seat. Football is entertainment and fans come to watch that. As soon as Coutinho gets on the ball, they're waiting for the unexpected to happen because that's what he has produced.

Steven Gerrard will be available for selection tonight. As someone who grew up just down the road from where he did in Huyton, what does he mean to you?

He's massive, not only to Liverpool, but to world football. To do what he has done in football, in Liverpool teams that haven't been the strongest, is fantastic. To carry them single-handedly in certain games and at certain times is unbelievable. To do it for his hometown club as well, where he grew up, is even more special. You want to play for your hometown side and Steven has done that. For me, it's between him and Kenny Dalglish for the best Liverpool player ever. What Steven has done is unbelievable.

Tell us about your day-to-day role now as a Swansea ambassador...

Most of my stuff is out in the community and with the fans. Not long ago I was in India, with Robbie Fowler, who was there with a couple of other ambassadors for the Premier League. I help out in schools, I go to different businesses and when the players have got appearances, I'll take them along. On matchdays, I'll do a bit in the lounges with the compere before the game. We'll analyse the game. It's fun. I'm glad to still be involved in football. I'm taking my coaching badges as well because that's something I would like to do in the future. It's great when you've got people like Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez and Garry Monk who you can just call up and speak to and ask for advice.

Watch the video here »