Reserves & Youth NEWS

Eccleston graduates to Melwood

Published by Zac Lee Rigg on September 30, 2008

Nathan Eccleston is moving up through the ranks.

The promising English player was given number 39 at the beginning of the season and is included in Liverpool’s Champion’s League roster. Now he will train with the reserves.

“It’s great news for Nathan because this is what he has been striving for,” Under-18s boss Hughie McAuley told Liverpoolfc.tv.

“He did very well in pre-season when he trained with the reserve team and I know Gary was very impressed.

“This news has given everybody at the Academy a boost. When you see a young lad who has been at the Academy since the age of 14 go to Melwood it’s fantastic.

“This is what our job is all about preparing young players so they can make that move to Melwood. Nathan’s move will give all of the young lads with us a lot of confidence, because if you play well and impress then you are more than likely to get a chance to go to Melwood.

“Nathan is an exciting player with a lot of potential. He can take defenders on and score goals. He knows he’s still got a lot of hard work ahead of him but he’s not afraid of that. He will still play in our Under-18 team this season as well so we are delighted to have him available.”

The coach charged with forming him into a first teamer is Gary Ablett, and he thinks the 17 year old could do just that.

“Nathan has done well when he has trained and played for us and he has a good attitude,” said Ablett.

“He really impressed during pre-season and we are looking forward to having him with us.

“The Academy is massively important for Liverpool and I don’t think you can underestimate how good a job the likes of Hughie and John Owens do.

“Without the help of Hughie my first year as reserve team manager wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it did and I’ve got a lot to thank him for.

“I speak to Hughie three times a week and we want to see the local boys progress because it is the lifeblood of the club. We all want the same thing which is the best players at our club.”

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