Young Liverpool defender Neco Williams has taken this season to be another phase of the “learning curve” he is on as a player under Jürgen Klopp’s tutelage.
Williams, 19, is the backup right-back for Liverpool, providing cover for the excellent Trent Alexander-Arnold. He has made 13 first-team appearances so far in 2020/21.
In an interview for Premier League Productions, Williams was asked about the experience he has gained this season and what he has learned from it:
“This season is more of a learning curve, I’m gaining the experience and I’m learning new things every day. Obviously, this season hasn’t gone how we wanted it. For me, it’s more of a learning curve and to take things on board to learn off this. I’m sure that’s the exact same for all the other players and all the other young lads. This is just a learning curve and this is gaining more experience for what’s to come in the future.”
Williams was also quizzed on the pressure of having to take your opportunities in the first-team when they come along and which more experienced players have been particularly helpful and influential for the youngster so far:
“I wouldn’t say the pressure is on but I think when you do come in you do need to take your chance, because we’ve had a lot of injuries this season and that hasn’t helped us at all. When someone is in your place and they do get an injury, you need to come in and not just for yourself but for the team, you need to give 110 per cent for the team and you need to give everything to do what that person in front of you was doing before he got injured.
“I’ve had help off a lot of players, more the senior players, the more experienced ones. Obviously James Milner – he has helped me a lot because he has been around for a while now and he has had that experience. He helps me a lot if I’m doing well, what I need to improve on. Or if I’ve had a few bad games, he’ll tell me what I need to improve on. He has played a massive part. And obviously the likes of Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana when he was here, they played massive roles. They just help you a lot. But that’s not just with me, that’s with all the young lads who come through or even all the team, everyone speaks together to see what we need to improve on and what we need to do. They have helped me a lot since I made a breakthrough and came up here.”
Williams is currently away on international duty where he played the full 90 minutes of Wales’ 3-1 defeat in Belgium last week.
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