Ibe: Boss has been key for my progress
Jordon Ibe believes Brendan Rodgers has been key to his smooth transition into the Liverpool first team since returning from a loan spell at Derby County.
At the start of the campaign, the 19-year-old was sent out to the Championship on a season-long loan with the Rams but, such was the rate of his development, the boss moved to bring him back to Anfield in January.
Ibe has since made 10 appearances for the Reds' senior team, and would likely have added more had he not been sidelined for the entirety of March due to injury.
The winger's contribution since his return to Merseyside led Rodgers to hail him as a 'very important' part of the squad earlier this week.
Reflecting on that praise, Ibe told Liverpoolfc.com: "It gives me a lot of confidence. I'm happy the gaffer thinks of me that way and hopefully I can just do what he thinks I can do on the pitch, do well and try to get goals for the team.
"He's given me the chance to play in the first team and I'm enjoying it and learning from all the players.
"I feel I can take this into next season and keep playing and doing well."
And the London-born flyer also explained how Rodgers is helping him to consistently improve his game and try new things on the pitch.
He added: "He's told me at times, 'Don't back down from going at a player'. If there's 10 opportunities to go at a player and I lose it nine times, he said the 10th time hopefully I'll go past the player.
"It gives me the confidence and freedom when I'm in the final third to express myself and try to do something positive - get a goal or whip it in for someone to score."
Liverpool were in the early stages of an unbeaten run in the Barclays Premier League that eventually stretched to 13 games when Ibe was recalled from Derby in January.
However, the Reds' form has been patchy since that streak ended against Manchester United, with further defeats by Arsenal and Hull City denting their hopes of a top-four finish.
But the forward insists he is learning just as much from going through a tough spell as he did when the team was on a good run.
"You could see how well everything was going when I first came back and we won three or four games on the bounce but now we're going through a difficult spell," he explained.
"But it's great for me to go through this and hopefully we can get out of this stage."
Although his recent performances have garnered praise from his manager and Kopites alike, Ibe is still keen to keep adding facets to his game.
The former Wycombe Wanderers starlet is currently focusing on contributing more goals and revealed one area where he feels he has made a big improvement of late.
"I can remember there was a chance in a game where I could have been back post and got a tap-in, so it's just getting in the right areas and in the frame of the goal. I'm working on that," he continued.
"I'm starting to get into the right areas now and making the right runs, so I think that's one of the key areas I've developed throughout the whole season.
"One of the biggest improvements [I have made] would be that I used to get nervous but I feel like I handle it better and play with the team with freedom."