InterviewU21s head coach Rob Page: 'Returning to development football at a massive club is exciting'

The 50-year-old succeeded the long-serving Barry Lewtas this summer in leading the Reds' development squad, representing his first position since a successful four-year tenure as Wales boss.

Page guided his country to their first World Cup appearance in 64 years and the last 16 of Euro 2020, having made the step up from coaching within its youth system.

He previously enjoyed a lengthy playing career that included 41 caps for Wales before moving into management with stints at Port Vale and Northampton Town.

Page recently sat down with Liverpoolfc.com for his first interview, during which he discussed his start at the club, the talent within the Kirkby Academy and why this job was too good to turn down. See what he had to say below...

Rob, a very warm welcome to Liverpool FC. How big an honour is it to be here?

It's massive. I've always known this was a big club and now being a part of it from the inside, wow! It's impressive, incredible. They have had difficult moments over the years and even more so recently, and seeing the club react to it all together, the connection between the players, the supporters and the staff has been incredible. This is a very special club.

Why was Liverpool so right for you? I know you spoke with Academy director Alex Inglethorpe…

I'd been part of development football with Wales U21s and when you are asked to step up to the first team you are never going to say no. So, it was an opportunity for me to take over as first-team manager and we had some great years, qualifying for the Euros and then the World Cup. I would never change that for the world, absolutely not, but development football was always something I was interested in with Wales. I'd helped develop 15 players from the U21s through to the first team – it was enjoyable to watch the likes of Harry Wilson, Neco Williams, who all came through the Academy here.

So for me to come back into development football at a massive club like Liverpool – who smashed the Premier League last season, seeing what they have done in the transfer window again – and work with some of the younger talents here and try to help develop top players into the first-team environment or help them to go on and have careers elsewhere, it was definitely an exciting option for me.

How excited are you by this opportunity to work with Liverpool's youngsters?

One of the changes we have made straight away is that we will work a lot closer with the U18s squad. They train at the same time as us now. So understandably when the first team need extra players we get a call and we give them some of our players or if they ask for certain players. It then gives us an opportunity, with the U18s training at the same time, to get the best U18s up as well and they can train with us and then they are used to that as well. So, there's a natural progression then from the U18s all the way through to the senior team.

Your last role was doing a magnificent job managing Wales and taking them to their first World Cup in 64 years. You must look back on that with a great deal of pride…

Absolutely. It wasn't something that I was expecting as I was Ryan Giggs' assistant to start with and then I was asked to step up and take over. It's similar to here when you are working with an excellent group of players. When you are working with the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Wayne Hennessey, there's a lot of good players in there and they made the job easy for me. We just had to turn up for the big and important games. I remember the Austria game was the semi-final, the play-off, and then we played Ukraine and trying to strip the emotions away from seeing what they are going through as a country, it was very hard but I was proud of the players for doing it. It's four or five years I look back on with unbelievable memories.

During your time with Wales you worked with a few Liverpool Academy products in Harry Wilson, Neco Williams and Danny Ward, so you are well aware of the talent that has been nurtured in Kirkby over the years…

I am, but not just as players, they are all good characters as well, really good characters, so that says a lot about the Academy. When you are involved in an academy, it's not just about the on-pitch things and it's how you conduct yourselves off it as well. So, Liverpool is obviously doing it right to develop three players like that. I played Wardy, Harry and Neco with Wales, and seeing Harry and Neco plying their trade in the Premier League – I know it might not be for Liverpool and another club – but it just shows that as a club, first and foremost, can we get them through to our first team? Absolutely. But if not, we need to play a part in helping them get a career in the Premier League or another division elsewhere. Harry and Neco are two great examples of that.

You will be working closely with Jay Spearing as well. How big a help has he been for you since you came to the club?

Immense. He is a proper character. I love him to bits already! He is class and I want the young lads to look at what he's all about, how he conducts himself, how he is in training. Sometimes when he joins in he still likes a tackle or two! It's important that they see that. It's not just about ability and it's about character. What does a Liverpool supporter want to see when you represent them when you walk onto that pitch? Jay oozes that culture from what is expected from a Liverpool side, and it's important that the young players look to him as an ex-legend and try to emulate his behaviours.

The pathway given to Academy players over the years under Jürgen Klopp and now Arne Slot has been fantastic to see. How vital is that for the young players to know there are opportunities for them?

Absolutely, it's important. It's not the be all and end all but they need to have the hunger and desire inside to be a professional footballer and, first and foremost, want to play for Liverpool Football Club. If it's not for whatever reason and they think they've got players in front of them who are doing really well and the opportunity is going to be limited then they have to look elsewhere and get games. But there is definitely a pathway here. That has been proven over the years with the development of some unbelievable young players, and I'm just proud to be a part of that now.

Watching your teams over the years, you love to play attacking football. Is Liverpool the perfect club in many ways to put that into practice?

I think so. In my last job when I was the Wales manager there are nine games out of 10 when you are probably going to be the underdog. We played the likes of Belgium, Netherlands and Poland in the Nations League, so inevitably you are going to have to suffer without the ball because teams are going to have a lot of possession against you. Coming here, that has flipped now, which I'm really enjoying because we have got some really exciting young players here in this U21s team.

It's about getting the balance right. Defensively, we need to be hard-working and organised. I've just preached to the players about the attitude during my first two weeks because I know they've got ability. It has been nice and really refreshing to be able to go and attack from the front. I want to mention Lewis Koumas, who has been exceptional in pre-season, and he triggers the press first just with his energy and his enthusiasm. I want to work with players like that because then you can be more on the front foot and play a more attack-minded game.

It's been a good start to pre-season so far with beneficial games against Celtic and then Wigan Athletic's senior team…

A completely different test against Wigan but I was really pleased because it was more about physicality, it was more about you are playing against men now who are training week in, week out in a domestic league. I was so proud of the players against Wigan because I told them in the changing room they not only matched it but added some as well. I thought we played some good football and I thought we were really aggressive in the press, which forced them into errors. It has given them confidence. So when we go into these EFL Trophy games this season against senior opposition, there is nothing for them to fear. We respect the opposition, like I've always said, but we won't fear them.

I know Alex Inglethorpe has been a big help for you here so far…

Alex is great and he has pretty much let me get on with it as well. I always know if I need any advice or a conversation about something then he is there on the end of the phone. We've got a great relationship, and with all the staff as well. I've just walked in and they have made me settle and made it easy for me straight away – and I'm talking from the kit man all the way through to the Academy director. So, they are a first-class group.

You are working with a big U21s squad in pre-season so far and certainly a few of them could well go on loan. But before that happens the older lads in the squad have a part to play in inspiring these younger players on and off the pitch…

Their attitude has been exemplary, it really has, and I've enjoyed working with them. It's bittersweet because you want to keep your best players around but also you've got a duty of care to help them get a career. Using the likes of Lewis and Owen Beck as an example, we want them to get a career. Now, is that to play for Liverpool's first team, so do we need to get them out on loan to get that experience and expose them to that level of football, knowing that they are going to come back in and improve us as a football club? Or is it for them to say they need to go and get a career for themselves? So, it really is bittersweet. You want your best players around you but you also want to help them get a career in the game.

It's an exciting season ahead. How much are you looking forward to leading the team in the Vertu Trophy and how important is it for younger players to face experienced teams?

It's really important. Because all we can offer the U21s players in this building is from a tactical point of view. Technically they are very good but when you are exposed to that competitive football… and that's why that game against Wigan was very important for us, it offered something different to Celtic's young U21s side. I've asked the players to be ruthless, I've asked them to be energetic and in both games so far they have absolutely covered that no problem at all. We've got a good senior group around us which will lead the way for the younger group. But those cup games are important because if you can tick all the boxes, we know they've got the ability, we know they can play and they are tactically aware, but can you cope with the physicality of EFL football? They proved against Wigan that they can.