AcademyPL2 play-off preview: Crystal Palace tie, season reflections and player development

The Reds' reward for finishing seventh in the standings is a one-legged tie at home against the 10th-placed Eagles in the first round of the end-of-season phase.

The clash will be staged at the Kirkby Academy and broadcast live on All Red Video, with the action getting under way at 2pm BST.

Page took his side on a nine-match unbeaten run – which included eight victories – at the start of 2026 to secure their spot in the play-offs.

Liverpoolfc.com spoke to the U21s head coach to preview the showdown with the Eagles and reflect on the season so far – read on for the interview.

On his first season as head coach of the U21s…

It took a little bit of time for me to adjust to the group and the group to me. A big part of the reason that I came in to take this group was to make it a bit more real. I've had management experience in the EFL. So, I think we are slowly changing the mindset, the culture and the mentality of U21s football. When I was a manager in league football, I was never a big fan of U21s football because I didn't see it as sort of real and relative to what I needed. Management is all about trust. You've got to be able to bring players in who are going to have an impact, make a difference and people you can trust with and without the ball.

Certainly in the first half of the season, I've tried to change that mentality and I think we have seen it. Just before Christmas we played a home game against Nice, and we weren't at our best and conceded goals that were probably what I would describe as U12s football. We were so naïve with our defending and it took me a couple of days to come to terms with that defeat. We delivered a meeting back to the players and from that day onwards we all understood how we wanted to look like, how we wanted to represent the football club.

The biggest message for me was I said to the players, think back to when you signed your contract for this club and you must have been so proud with your parents and telling your friends that you are now playing for Liverpool. With that comes an enormous responsibility and you've got to deliver performances and represent the club in the right manner. That's with and without the ball, doing the hard work and running yourself into the ground. That has been evident since the turn of the year when we went undefeated until the Manchester City game. I definitely saw a change in the mentality from the players from Christmas onwards after our meeting.

On some very promising performances in 2025-26…

There have been and the one that stands out straight away is Arsenal when we won 7-0. They were a very good footballing team but what we did straight from the kick-off was we got them in the corner and we turned them and we ran all over them. We know we have good players in our team who can play good football. If you get the balance right and you do both sides of it then you have a recipe for success.

On working alongside Jay Spearing and the coaching staff…

Jay is great and is such a character. All the staff – Mozzer the goalkeeping coach, Josh, Ross and Jacob, myself and Jay – we are a good team. The environment is great and our biggest message to the players is, 'Look, we are alright with you having a laugh and a joke off the pitch but the minute you cross that line on the training field then it's your game head and we give it everything that we have got.'

On the play-off format to end the season…

It's unusual. We've had such a big gap now since we last played Crystal Palace. We were lucky we got the chance to go over to PSG and play at their academy and we've played a few friendlies. So, it is an unusual format but it is what it is. It has been a while since we played a competitive game together, so we are looking forward to the play-off on Sunday now.

On the 5-1 home loss to Palace in the last Premier League 2 game…

I have looked back on it and we weren't at our best if I'm being completely honest. The goals we conceded were so naïve – set-pieces. Crystal Palace are a very good team and they did the not-so-pretty side of the game really well that day. Having looked back on the goals we conceded against them, hopefully with a couple of little tweaks we can eradicate that and give ourselves the best chance of winning the game.

It's good that we have a home game and the lads deserve that for finishing in the top eight. We got a home draw first and hopefully if you get through you then get another for the next one. It definitely helps us as we've had some really strong performances at home. So, we are looking forward to it.

On striker Will Wright making good strides after picking up an injury early on in the season…

Will picked up an injury in the UEFA Youth League against Atletico Madrid and it wasn't good timing for him, especially after coming in from Salford City and then making his Anfield debut for the first team in pre-season. It was an incredible few weeks for him because he had passed his driving test and then played at Anfield for Liverpool. With the injury then it's the highs and lows of football. But credit to him, he has shown a great attitude and come back fighting fit and scoring goals. It's a shame with the injury that he is probably three or four months behind his development but the way he is going at the minute we've been really pleased with. So, he is one to look out for.

Mor Talla Ndiaye has also come in and he is getting better day by day. He is going to be an exciting prospect for our supporters to watch. We'll have to be patient with him, of course, from where he has come from and the level of football he has been playing at to where we think he can get to. But it's all part of development and exciting times for our supporters to see how these young lads are doing.

On the mature displays of top scorer Kieran Morrison after being given extra responsibilities…

I came into this job to change the mentality, and Kieran has probably been the most rewarding side of that. Footballers these days have to understand that when they go and play league football, the manager expects not only how good you are as a player but it's how you conduct yourself off the pitch as well. I think Kieran has shown an enormous amount of maturity. Giving him the armband, some players can't cope with the pressure of it – but others thrive on it and Kieran is thriving on it. I've got other leaders like Amara [Nallo] and characters in the team who don't necessarily need the armband to lead. Kieran has risen to the challenge and even minor things like collecting the gear at the end, he has shown good leadership.