Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has revealed that his desire to see the club’s academy players succeed sometimes leads to heated moments during training.
The Argentine midfielder admitted that he can lose his temper with Liverpool’s emerging talents when he feels their standards drop but insisted that his approach comes from wanting them to reach their full potential.
Mac Allister was speaking after playing a key role in Liverpool’s 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, where he opened the scoring as several academy graduates impressed against Premier League opposition.
Youngsters including Trey Nyoni, James McConnell, and Rio Ngumoha were given opportunities to showcase their ability, with their performances earning praise after helping Liverpool secure victory.
Speaking to ITV, Mac Allister explained his approach to working with the younger players.
“I focus quite a lot on them and I get angry. I think it’s part of me wanting them to succeed. As I said, they’re really good. They have quality, they are intense and they know what the club means. It’s important and they are going to be really important for us this season,” Mac Allister said.
The midfielder believes the youngsters’ display against Tottenham was no coincidence, pointing to the effort they consistently put in during training at the AXA Training Centre.
“Definitely. It was really important for the young players. They show every single day in training that they want to be here. They work really, really hard and they have quality. I’m really happy for them because they deserve this in training,” he noted.
Mac Allister also reflected on his own contribution after finding the net in the cup victory. The goal came as part of Liverpool’s work on finishing, with the midfielder revealing that shooting has been an area of focus during training.
“We are practicing a lot of shooting,” he explained. “Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) has it – it’s natural for him. For me, I was a bit lucky. I like getting in the box and scoring so it’s really important to score for our confidence and important to win because that’s what we wanted,” he explained.
Despite the convincing cup result, Mac Allister was keen to ensure the squad did not get carried away. The Argentine stressed that Liverpool must maintain consistency and quickly turn their attention towards their next challenge.
“We need to understand that it’s only one game and if you look back and you see the games against Ipswich and Atletico, they were really good,” the midfielder cautioned. “Then against Fulham we couldn’t play the football we wanted. Now we need to make sure we are ready for the next game.”
For Liverpool’s younger players, the opportunity to feature alongside experienced first-team figures such as Mac Allister could prove valuable as they continue their development.
And while the midfielder admits his approach can sometimes be demanding, his message is clear: he expects the academy players to maintain the standards required to succeed at Anfield.