Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has told Liverpoolfc.com that he sought advice from first-team boss Jurgen Klopp before entering into management. After enjoying an outstanding playing career, Gerrard is in his first season with Liverpool Under-18s.
The former Reds skipper, who took over as Under-18 boss of at the start of this season, has guided Liverpool to third in the Premier League U18 table. Gerrard is just at the beginning of his coaching career, while Klopp has been in this for a long time.
The duo recently met up inside Klopp’s Melwood office as a part of a special behind-the-scenes tour of the training ground. Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.com that he took guidance from Klopp before entering the world of management.
“For me, it was about trying it. We had numerous conversations and I asked Jürgen a lot of questions about what it was like. He spoke about his experiences. It was all about the next two years to go and sample it, try it and see what it is like.
“He gave me the pros and the cons, and gave me invaluable advice moving forward. I’m enjoying the role and making loads of mistakes, but they’re off-camera – which is what he suggested was the best move,” Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.com.
Asked if he found anything in particular where he has struggled, Gerrard added:
“Everything that is new is not a struggle but is different. You go out of your comfort zone. For the first time, you have 25 players around you. You have to put what’s on the paper and go and deliver it on the field. Then you get your first player knocking on the door asking, ‘why aren’t I playing?’ Everything is new.
“Some things are a struggle because you’re not used to it or you’ve got no experience. But with time and experiences in certain situations, if you’re faced with the same thing again you think to yourself, ‘what did I do right? What did I do wrong?’ It is experiences that help you with decisions moving forward. But, I’m not going to lie, at the beginning you are like a rabbit in the headlights – ‘what am I going to do?’ – and it’s different.
“When you’re a player, you just turn up and think, ‘I know I can go and perform on the training pitch, or I can go and perform at Anfield’. But when you’re a manager, there is so much more that you have to think about.”
Gerrard says that being able to reach out to Klopp for advice and guidance is like ‘gold-dust’ and admits that he is growing every day as a coach.
“The other thing as well is that it’s about personnel. I might say to my kids, ‘we have to play the Jürgen Klopp way’ but I haven’t got Jürgen Klopp’s players. I’ve got different players with different styles. You have to find out about the individual, their strengths and weaknesses and then play a way that suits those people.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ask some of my kids to run like Mane or do what Firmino does, because they’re already ready to be top players. But it’s a fascinating job because you learn so much every day about players,” Gerrard explained.
Gerrard has done a commendable job since taking charge of the Liverpool U-18 at the start of the season. The former skipper being the warrior that he is, has instilled a winning mentality in the kids and I am certain he is the right man for the job.
Let’s hope Gerrard does well with the U-18 team, nurtures the academy talents and emerges as the perfect candidate to replace Klopp as Liverpool’s first-team boss.
