Neil Critchley has spoken of the challenges faced by his new-look U23s squad as they look to win the Premier League 2 title.

As the young Reds prepare to host West Ham United at the Academy on Saturday, a youthful home side will take to the field.

Critchley’s charges are a point ahead of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the table with six games left to play.

Read on for the manager's thoughts on Trent Alexander-Arnold's impressive first-team display against Porto, those U23 players out on loan and the PL2 title race...

On his former U18s captain Alexander-Arnold's performance at Estadio do Dragao…

“It was great to watch him and I thought he produced a really mature performance. Every time you see him play you think ‘OK, you have got better and you are improving’. He’s still got a long way to go obviously and things he needs to improve on, but the way he is handling the occasion, the big occasions, you think he has definitely got the X-factor if you like. It’s really pleasing to see how well Trent is doing at the moment. He knows he’s got some competition on his hands, and rightly so at Liverpool, but to go away and perform the way he did I thought it was an outstanding individual performance within an outstanding team performance.”

On Harry Wilson scoring on his first start for Hull City in the Championship…

“Harry won a penalty after a good run into the box and then he scored a lovely goal on the counter-attack. I think the manager [Nigel Adkins] was really pleased with him and his performance was very good. They play Chelsea away in the FA Cup on Friday night and hopefully he keeps his place because that would be a great occasion for him. It’s great to see the boys [Corey Whelan, Ovie Ejaria and Matty Virtue] out on loan because they were ready for that. They get to sample senior football, men’s football, and playing in front of big crowds. We get enthused as staff by it as well and watching Soccer Saturday takes on a new lease of life. We are watching the highlights and also trying to get out to watch their games, which some of the staff have been doing. It’s fantastic to see them out there progressing and learning a new way and developing their careers, and that’s the way it has to got to be at our level.”

On Herbie Kane taking the captain’s armband with Whelan and Wilson out on loan…

“Herbie has really come to the fore in the last few weeks. He has seen a few U23 senior players go on loan and he’s taken it upon himself to become the leader in this group. His training and his performances have been top-class so he deserves the armband. It also comes with a big responsibility and he knows that. I’m confident he can accept that challenge and I think it will develop him as a person as well as a player and I think that’s really important for Herbie.”

On how Tony Gallacher is settling in following his move from Falkirk…

“It has been really difficult for Tony because we signed him as a left-back but we have been playing a back three, and he has been our left-sided centre-back. We’ve got a younger new team and I think it would be unfair to judge him at the moment. He has settled into the group really well, he is a really likeable boy, he trains well with a great attitude and has good focus. I’m sure during his time with us he will improve and get better. At this moment in time we have to be patient with him and give him time to settle.”

On why there were positives to take from Tuesday’s narrow loss at Bristol City…

“In many ways it was an encouraging performance. We had a new team, a young side, and it was a great experience for them. For large parts of the game we dominated the ball, had a lot of possession with some good moves but failed to turn that into meaningful possession. We had a few chances which we didn’t capitalise on and we were unfortunate to lose to a deflected free-kick from outside the box. It was disappointing to lose but from a performance level it was quite encouraging.”

On giving U18s players Rafael Camacho, Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Tom Clayton and Edvard Tagseth their U23 debuts in that game…

“We were saying before the game that it could have possibly been the youngest U23 team we have ever put out, certainly over the last few years. They played with a maturity and they weren’t fazed by the occasion which was really encouraging. I thought their efforts and their performance merited a draw out of the game at least.”

On a new-look U23s side…

“We will have a younger team on show until the end of the season. In some ways it’s like starting again with a new squad. It’s good for the younger players because they get an opportunity to push themselves and go to that next level. They should all be wanting that and that’s the way you’ve got to look at it. Some of the boys have gone on loan and the younger ones are now ready to make that step up.”

On the Premier League 2 title race and leading the pack with six games to go…

“We are still up there fighting at the top of the league but I’ve said it all along and I will keep saying it, we want to win on Saturday and as long as the boys show the willingness to win and the right attitude and give their all like they did at Bristol City then we are happy with that. The results don’t always follow but we want to win on Saturday. It’s more important that our players develop and that’s why some of the boys have gone on loan. This means some of our younger boys will now get a new challenge with the U23s. The results might dip for a period of time, hopefully they don’t, but we are still up there fighting and we will give it everything we have got and it starts with Saturday against West Ham.”

On the challenge of West Ham in Premier League 2 on Saturday…

“We are looking forward to it. The last time we played at the Academy wasn’t a particularly memorable day, when we lost to Swansea City, so we are hoping we can rectify that performance on Saturday. It’s going to be a tough game for us because I would imagine West Ham will be older than us and stronger, so we have got to stand up to that physical test and then be prepared to play our football and make our ability show. It’s exciting and I’m really looking forward to seeing how our younger boys do because it’s a new challenge and the best players find a way of adapting. We had a really good game against West Ham down at Dagenham early in the season and we played very well that night and won 2-0. West Ham will always give you problems. They are very well organised and aggressive, they put you under pressure and physically you have to stand up to that challenge. We have to be fully concentrated and compete for everything all over the pitch for the whole 90 minutes.”

On needing a draw away to Stoke City to qualify for the next stage of the Premier League Cup…

“We approach every game to win and that will be another good game to look forward to because there’s something riding on the game. Stoke need to win and they beat us at Chester and it’s good that we go into the last game in the group having something to play for. Our target is to get out of the group but if we get a point we will qualify. That game against Stoke when we lost 4-3 was probably one of our worst performances of the season. It was one of the few occasions this season when our mentality and focus wasn’t right and we paid the price for that in the first half. We were always chasing the game and it was a good lesson for us because if you don’t approach a game in the right manner you can slip up.”

Saturday's game against West Ham is at the Academy, with kick-off set for 3pm GMT. We will have delayed coverage on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.