Macca: U21s coming on leaps and bounds

The Reds kept their bid for Barclays U21 Premier League glory on track by following up a mini-derby success against Everton with a come-from-behind win over Leicester on Monday afternoon.

McManaman, who has helped train the club's youngsters at the Academy this season, was in Chester to see Dan Cleary and Cameron Brannagan grab the goals in a 2-1 victory over the Foxes.

After the game, the former Liverpool winger explained that the age of those involved in the push for top honours in the U21 league bodes well for the future.

“I don’t think winning the league is that important at this level but certainly you don’t want to be at the bottom of the league because you must be doing things correctly when you are playing well and are at top of the league," he told the Liverpool Echo.

“I think they’ve come on leaps and bounds this year, I’m really impressed. There’s a lot of young kids here and you forget that and they’re all doing really well.

“Sheyi [Ojo], Ryan Kent and Harry Wilson, when they attack players, they’re very, very confident and they’re playing very well."

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Beale's men had trailed 1-0 to Leicester at half-time at Swansway Stadium, and in fact had goalkeeper Danny Ward to thank for keeping things tight before the break.

But the hosts were vastly improved in the second period and ran out deserved winners in the end - much to the delight of McManaman.

"They were really good in the second half, the first half was difficult. You can see the pitch was not conducive to getting the ball down and playing," he continued.

"The second half we went a little bit more direct, a bit over the top and the Leicester players got a little bit tired didn’t they?

"Confidence-wise, it’s nice they’ve won against Everton and they’ve come here against a more physical side who play a different style of football and they’ve found a way of getting the result. That is great to see.”