Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Rafa: Academy Changes Working


Rafa Benitez believes there are already signs that our new-look Academy is producing exciting talent.

The gaffer instigated big changes down in Kirkby last summer, with the likes of Frank McParland, Kenny Dalglish, Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell being drafted in.

One player they are nurturing is 15-year-old left-back Jack Robinson, who was invited to train with the first team last week.

Benitez is hopeful the teenager and several other Academy scholars will soon be ready to train regularly alongside the likes of Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard.

"Jack was okay," the boss told Liverpoolfc.tv. "He was a little bit shy at first, a little bit quiet. But the senior players were helping and supporting him. The first training session is never easy but little by little he was better.

"We have to go one step at a time, they have to progress through different teams, but it's always important to meet someone and give the others the message that they can progress if they're doing well. It's a good message for the others now because they have extra motivation.

"We didn't have too many players of the level we were expecting but now the atmosphere is really good and we have more players with quality.

"They have some players in each group and the other day I got a report with different names and different players - but still they are young so they have to keep working very hard if they want to be in the Reserves and then the first team."

Asked what changes had been made at the Academy since last summer, Benitez added: "When I talk with them it's clear they're doing a very good job and all the staff are working very hard to improve and change things. We are really pleased with them.

"We are trying for a different approach in training sessions. The mentality and the way they have to behave is more or less the same because it already wasn't bad.

"The technical plan and how to push the players is now a little bit better."

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