CAIN & CLARKSONteam fixture at Anfield, and an unbelievable night for everyone
at the Academy as well.
Leighton: Critch was very good for us both. He was watching
us since we were about 12 and spoke positively about us to
other coaches. Just after Christmas, we got promoted by
him to only play Under-23s football from now on. That gave
us both a huge lift because it’s what we both thought we
deserved. In training he was at us because he knows how we
can play. So if we were playing poorly, or not doing what we
should be doing, he’d tell us. He tells you the truth and that’s
what is good about him.
Jake: You’ve got to keep maintaining your standards here. If
you let them slip there are always other players who are good
enough to come in and take your place. So when Critch kept
getting after us it made us keep going and determined to play
better because the first-team don’t let their standards drop,
so it should be the same for us. We need to be good enough
to take their places, so we should be working even harder. If
we didn’t work hard enough, he’d tell us, which was good as it
kept us honest.
THE FIRST-TEAM AND ACADEMY WILL ALL BE ON THE
SAME SITE HERE IN KIRKBY NEXT SEASON WHEN THE NEW
TRAINING GROUND OPENS – IS THAT IMPORTANT?
Leighton: I think it’s important because we’re striving to be
over there at the new training base and not over here at
the Academy. In your head in training you’ll be thinking you
want to be over there, so I think seeing the first-team being
so close is a good thing as it’ll spur us on.
Jake: I think it’ll give us all a burst of energy to want to be
around them, especially with the first-team doing so well
and winning trophies. We want to be part of that as well, so
watching them train so close to us will gives us a boost and
a buzz. We’ve both been up to Melwood quite a few times
and training is a lot quicker and more intense. The coaches
are always on you and pressing. It’s just very intense and the
players are very loud, but they communicate with you. They
help you when things are tough, and they help you when
things are going well.
Leighton: They’re world-class players and every time I’ve
been to Melwood the standard has not dropped once. There
has not been a session that I’ve thought has been bad. Every
single session has been very good and there are a lot of
leaders there as well, which is good. The manager has also
spoken to us after every session when I’ve been up there.
He comes and shakes our hands before and after sessions
and speaks to us during sessions. He’ll compliment us when
we’ve done something good and, of course, Pep Lijnders
has known us for a long time because he used to be our
coach. We’ve got a good relationship with Pep, which helps