Anfield chief, Brendan Rodgers, has asked Andre Wisdom to follow the footsteps of Liverpool veteran Jamie Carragher, as he looks to establish his career at Merseyside.
The English International came in the spotlight, following his debut goal for the Reds in a Europa League group match against Young Boys. His scalp helped Liverpool secure a comeback from behind 5-3 win last week.
The Ulsterman, who took over the Anfield reins in June from Kenny Dalglish, is out on the mission to reverse the gloomy situation at the club. His path involves giving more exposure to the academy players in order to nourish them for his long term goals.
The manager has already given Raheem Sterling a regular role upfront in his starting-eleven, and fielded scores of understudy players in their Europa League tie against the Swiss side.
The 19-year-old defender was one of them.
Rodgers saw plenty of promise in him and feels that Wisdom has got what it takes to stake his claim in the regular line-up. And to achieve that, he asked the youngster to refer to Jamie Carragher’s career as a blueprint.
Having made a staggering 706 appearances for Liverpool, the Northern Irishman insisted that Carragher was the perfect role model for all the young defenders.
“The likes of Andre Wisdom look up so much to guys like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jamie-Carragher-c17728, and to be on the same field as him and learning from his experience and leadership qualities is very, very important,” he told the reporters.
“I thought Andre Wisdom at right-back was excellent. He’s got all the qualities that I believe will set him up to have a very good career.”
The Reds have currently got a good mix of experience and talent in the squad. Scores of young players are making their way into the team, and their progress has been further helped by the presence of the veterans.
Rodgers explained that even though the youngsters receive loads of instructions from their manager, going out on the field and delivering results was a totally different thing.
And that is where, he feels, the senior players can step in.
“When they go out onto the field, if they’ve got top players around them that can also help them manage the game from the inside,” he added.
Wisdom is set to make another appearance for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 on Wednesday, when the Reds visit the Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion in a League Cup match.
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