'Work hard and don’t waste a minute of your development'
As Marc Bridge-Wilkinson prepares to take charge of his first game as the new Liverpool U18s boss on Saturday, he has set out a clear message for his young players if they are to emulate the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Neco Williams.
The trio have all graduated to Jürgen Klopp’s first-team squad and the coach admits he uses them in team meetings as an example of the hard work his charges must adhere to.
Bridge-Wilkinson has a talented squad to work with this season, with a host of first-year scholars being joined by the arrivals of Germany U16 captain Melkamu Frauendorf from Hoffenheim and Poland attacker Mateusz Musialowski, while Scouser Layton Stewart will be hoping to continue a promising debut season by leading the line for the U18s.
The young Reds host Stoke City in their 2020-21 season opener at the Kirkby Academy on Saturday morning – a game you can watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO from 10.50am BST, with kick-off set for 11am.
Ahead of the behind-closed-doors game, we caught up with Bridge-Wilkinson to talk about his new role and his hopes for the development of the U18s…
On a very satisfying pre-season campaign…
From our point of view, it has been really positive. We’ve got everything out of it that we hoped to in terms of games, in terms of the levels of the games and fitness obviously. The boys have adapted to the situation quite well, considering they haven’t played football for four or five months. We’ve tried a few different things in terms of formations but we are not set on that as we do tweak and change depending who the players we have in the team. We’ve worked a lot on the principles and the core values of the football club and the Academy, of course – and they don’t change and they will be in for the season. It’s been really good, the boys have taken to it really well and in general things have gone in a really positive fashion. We are really pleased and we are looking forward to the season now.
On the goals flying in during pre-season and impressive performances…
We have worked really hard on the style of play we want from the boys during the five or six weeks we have had during the pre-season and the boys have taken to it. I don’t think it’s anything that is really too new to them and I think it’s just making sure we go over the basics and make sure everyone understands what they are doing. The boys have been brilliant. We have scored lots of goals, we have defended well generally in most games, so we are really pleased.
On the new additions making a favourable impression during the close season…
All the new additions have settled well, including the first-years that were with us at U16 level last year. It’s been quite satisfying and quite a smooth transition really. Obviously with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a bit difficult at the start but since then everything has ran really smoothly. The new boys that have come in have adapted really well to what we’ve asked them to do and they all look really exciting, so we are really pleased.
On starting his new role as U18s manager…
First and foremost, just to get back out on the grass is brilliant and to do it with this group – a group I know really well – it’s really special and I’m really grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity. So we’ll leave no stone unturned and we’ll do our best and see where we go.
On a young squad to choose from with great competition for places…
It is a young squad but age is a number. It’s no problem. We are just lucky with the players we have got. We have got good players not just in this group, but the group above and groups below. We are very lucky at the Academy that we have got good players all throughout. So we don’t worry about the age, we just want to make sure that these players get better.
On the aims for the team and individual players this season…
The first thing that comes to it is individually we are trying to improve every player. We’d like to get boys in and around the U23s. Who that will be and when that will happen, I don’t know – but that’s got to be the first aim to help each individual improve and get better. As a group and as a team, I guess it’s about performance and it’s about understanding the job that we have and understanding the way that we want to play football, and hopefully going out there and playing really entertaining and really positive football.
On the progress of Curtis Jones and Neco Williams following Trent Alexander-Arnold into the first-team squad and being an inspiration for the up-and-coming Academy graduates…
I think we have to mention that and it’s something the boys can see, I think, at every age group, not just the U18s. To see the lads who they are following in their footsteps get an opportunity with the first team, it’s fantastic. In some ways it really helps us and it does part of our job for us because they can see there is a clear pathway. They can see Neco or Curtis or Trent, what they’ve done and the effort and the sacrifices that they have made to get there. Ultimately, when they see that and when we can see that, it gives the boys that extra bit of energy and that extra focus that maybe it could happen, there’s a possibility it could happen. So we will use those players for the technical aspect and all the footage of them in action. In terms of the example they have set as well, it's fantastic.
On a close working relationship with U23s boss Barry Lewtas…
It’s really good. I’ve been really fortunate that when I first came here Barry was with the age group above and we’ve kind of moved up as we’ve gone along, so the relationship has always been really good and that won’t change. We speak quite regularly, we are in the office most days now and when things get back to normal we’ll be speaking daily about everything. So we have a really close relationship and hopefully that will continue.
On the support from Academy director Alex Inglethorpe…
Exceptional. First and foremost, Alex brought me to the football club, which I will be forever grateful for. He has shown a lot of faith in me bringing me here and also since then giving me different roles in the football club, this being the latest one. Alex has been brilliant. He is a fantastic coach and he is a fantastic person to work for and, above all else, he’s a great man. On the football pitch he’s brilliant in terms of the detail and the way that he coaches, not just the players but the staff as well [in] the way he helps us. When we talk about off the pitch, the way that he handles himself as an individual, the way that he treats us as staff and players, the dignity that he gives us all, it’s exceptional. It really is.
On his message to the U18s players this season…
Work hard, don’t waste a minute of your development, keep learning, keep listening to the experience that is around the building and ultimately go and play football with a smile on your face. In the whole world at the minute, not just in football, we’ve spent the last four or five months sat on our hands waiting for an opportunity to get out and do whatever it is that we all love doing – and these boys are no different. Let’s play with a smile on our face and not waste a minute of that. That would be the message from me.
On Saturday’s opening game of 2020-21 against Stoke City…
Stoke will be organised. They will be tough to play against, they will be physically ready for the challenge. So from our point of view, we’ve got to be ready for all those things. We’ve got to make sure we are willing to match them, if not better them in all those areas and hopefully we’ll have the quality to cause them problems.
