Inglethorpe: I'm proud of U21 trip
Liverpool U21s manager Alex Inglethorpe declared that he is 'very, very proud' of his side after they returned home on the back of two friendly victories in Northern Ireland.
The boss' charges secured impressive 1-0 wins over Glentoran and Hearts senior sides on their travels, and Inglethorpe was thoroughly pleased with how his youngsters conducted themselves both in training and on the pitch.
The 41-year-old told LFC TV: "The reason to go there was of course to play the two games.
"But before that we had a training camp leading into it and the boys were tremendous, worked really hard - two sessions a day - and lots of individual and group meetings around that as well. So the benefit was massive.
"It's not leaving the training ground at 12.30 or one o'clock with a wash bag under your arm - especially for a young player.
"They've got to realise that they've got hours more of dedication to give to get to where they want to go. So I thought it was important on many levels why we would want to train twice a day and also continue to do so."
Reflecting on the encouraging scalps they achieved during the trip, Inglethorpe felt his side dealt with the physical threat they encountered and played in the slick passing style they're accustomed to.
He also explained how the youngsters coped extremely well in the absence of more experienced colleagues, with the younger charges providing a positive selection headache for the boss.
"It was good," Inglethorpe added. "I suppose if there was a concern before we went out it was that we knew we'd be playing against senior sides without the likes of Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson, Michael Ngoo, Krisztian Adorjan and Dani Pacheco and all the players around last year like Conor Coady.
"It was very much a young group against a senior side so Glentoran was excellent in that it gave us that. And to be fair to Glentoran, I thought they really tried to pass the ball very well. It was actually a very good footballing contest. It was enjoyable to watch as a spectacle.
"I thought we deserved to win against Hearts. We knew it had to be a game in our style. If we tried to take them on physically it would have been a disaster for us but we managed to keep hold of the ball and look after it and again in this game we created far more chances.
"You've got young Jordan Rossiter at 16 playing in the heart of midfield and you've got young Dan Trickett-Smith playing just one line higher up and he's a small lad, and he's got loads to come physically.
"But I thought they handled themselves really well - very, very proud of them."