Academy'I wanted to test myself - and I want to score more goals'

The Liverpool Academy forward linked up with the Welsh Premier League side on loan for 2022-23 at the beginning of September and has since been in prolific form.

O’Rourke provided the opening goal in Friday night’s 3-3 draw at Connah’s Quay – his sixth in nine league appearances for Caernarfon – and is eager to continue developing and delivering.

“The opportunity to get regular game time in a first-team environment was big for me,” said the 20-year-old in an interview this week.

“Jakub Ojrzynski was on loan at Caernarfon last season and he said it was a good place to go with great fans. I wanted to test myself and see what I could do in a new league.

“It’s been a great experience so far. It is nice to be scoring goals and hopefully I can carry on doing that. I feel that I have adapted pretty well.

“I would always like to score more goals than I do, but hopefully if I keep getting chances then I will score more than I miss! The players around me are very good and they are always helping me to develop.”

A Scouser who has been part of the Reds’ youth set-up in Kirkby since U14 level, O’Rourke’s long-term ambition is to represent his club in senior football.

In the immediate future, meanwhile, the focus is firmly on increasing that goal tally for his current side.

“As a team, we want to be finishing in the top four,” he said of Caernarfon. “For me, I would like to get into double digits for goals before the end of the year and just keep on playing as well as I can.

“I’m from Liverpool and I have grown up supporting the club so it would be a dream to play in the first team. I know it will be hard but you have to set your goals high to be able to have a good career.”