Kenny Dalglish's confirmation as permanent Liverpool manager this week was hardly surprising, but it was still a shot in the arm for the club's youths and reserves taking part in their first Hong Kong Soccer Sevens this weekend.
Dalglish has Liverpool closing in on fifth place in the Premier League, remarkable given that they were four points from the bottom when he took over from Roy Hodgson in January. Perhaps of more interest to the aspiring professionals playing at Hong Kong Football Club today has been the new man's willingness to put his faith in youth.
Midfielder Jay Spearing (22) and defenders Martin Kelly (21) and John Flanagan (18) have all been blooded and not looked out of place in the first team, while the likes of Jonjo Shelvey (19) and Jack Robinson (17) have also made their marks.
Dalglish's confidence in the products of Liverpool's academy is inspirational to players hoping to follow their former teammates into the big league, midfielder Tom Ince said yesterday.
'It's great news obviously,' said the 19-year-old son of former Liverpool and Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince. 'It's great for the young lads because we've seen [the likes of] Flanagan and Robinson getting a chance, but it was something we knew was going to happen because he deserved it.
'The boss deserved it every way, he picked up results, the team's playing well, he's giving young players a chance; there's a real new buzz about the place and hopefully we can take that forward into the next season.'
Ince, described as an attacking winger/second striker unlike his box-to-box father, had a sniff of the first team in the League Cup under Hodgson this season before impressing on loan at Notts County.
