Tyler Morton has explained what Jurgen Klopp said to him before he made his Premier League debut for Liverpool.
With his dad watching on in the stands at Anfield, the boyhood Red was introduced late on in the 4-0 win over Arsenal on November 20.
And what followed was beyond the teenager's wildest dreams as he started the next match, the 2-0 victory at home to Porto in the Champions League, and again two weeks later at the iconic San Siro as the Reds beat AC Milan 2-1 to finish the group stage with a 100% winning record.
Around that time Liverpool were hit hard by injuries and illness in midfield, leading manager Klopp to call upon the 19-year-old.
READ MORE: Thiago Alcantara setback as Liverpool confirm Harvey Elliott return plan
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp explains when Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will be available for Liverpool
Morton admits he was nervous before his introduction against Arsenal but in an exclusive interview with The Independent, explained how his manager took the edge off.
Morton, who was given one of Klopp's famous bear hugs just before coming on, said: “He told me: ‘If you play bad, it’s not on you, it’s on me. I’m putting you in this situation, so just show me what you’ve got’. That took a lot of weight off my shoulder.
"It makes you want to play that much better for him because he’s put his trust in you. It was a proud moment that’ll stay with me forever.”
Morton trains with world class players every day at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby and who better to learn from than one of the most talented midfielders in world football, Thiago Alcantara?
*Pick the Liverpool team to face Cardiff City:
“Sometimes I just watch Thiago [Alcantara],” the Liverpool Academy graduate added.
“You can’t not just admire it; how he plays; the touch of the ball; the disguise he puts on passes. You think that’s where I want to be. He’s just that good.”
Being a local lad, playing for the Reds comes with a certain pressure that the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Trent Alexander-Arnold and now Morton are aware of.
“Because I’m a local lad, we’re very... how can I say it... we just really want to win,” Morton said.
“You can see it in [Steven] Gerrard, [Jamie] Carragher, Trent [Alexander-Arnold], the local people, they love a tackle. I think it’s just where we’re from.”
