Jamie Carragher wants the Liverpool youngsters who played in the Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven to show that graduates from their much-criticised academy can be first-team successes.
None have managed it since the centre was built in Kirkby 10 years ago at a cost of £10million. But Liverpool's vice-captain sees hope for the future in the club's young English defenders Stephen Darby and Martin Kelly and midfielder Jay Spearing, all sent on as substitutes in Holland on Tuesday.
Darby, a Liverpool boy, and Spearing, from Wirral, both 20, were in the sides that won the FA Youth Cup in 2006 and 2007, while 18-year-old Kelly hails from Bolton.
Carragher, a Liverpool lad, said: 'It is more difficult than when I started. We are regarded as one of the best teams in Europe and that makes it more difficult for the younger players who are trying to break into the team.
'Playing for Liverpool in the Champions League is something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Jay told me he received 37 text messages after the game, so that shows just how pleased his family and friends are and it's the same with all of us. We're all delighted for them.
'When you are a local lad who has come through, you have a bit of an extra feel for the club. That's not a criticism of the foreign players but the club does mean so much to the local lads and you can see that in those young lads every day in training.'
None have managed it since the centre was built in Kirkby 10 years ago at a cost of £10million. But Liverpool's vice-captain sees hope for the future in the club's young English defenders Stephen Darby and Martin Kelly and midfielder Jay Spearing, all sent on as substitutes in Holland on Tuesday.
Darby, a Liverpool boy, and Spearing, from Wirral, both 20, were in the sides that won the FA Youth Cup in 2006 and 2007, while 18-year-old Kelly hails from Bolton.
Carragher, a Liverpool lad, said: 'It is more difficult than when I started. We are regarded as one of the best teams in Europe and that makes it more difficult for the younger players who are trying to break into the team.
'Playing for Liverpool in the Champions League is something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Jay told me he received 37 text messages after the game, so that shows just how pleased his family and friends are and it's the same with all of us. We're all delighted for them.
'When you are a local lad who has come through, you have a bit of an extra feel for the club. That's not a criticism of the foreign players but the club does mean so much to the local lads and you can see that in those young lads every day in training.'
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