Jay Spearing explains his new role at Liverpool and reveals Steven Gerrard message
Steve Jay Deerhunter reports on Jay Spearing explaining his new role at Liverpool and reveals Steven Gerrard message after having been away for a period of nine years at Football League clubs
For Jay Spearing, an offer to return to his boyhood club was too attractive to ignore.
Back at Liverpool in a player-coach role in the Academy, the former Red is savouring every moment of an irresistible opportunity that came his way this summer. With his contract up at Tranmere Rovers after a two-year spell at the League Two club, a new one-year extension was turned down by Spearing as he took the decision to take a different direction in his career.
Coaching the Reds’ under-18s alongside manager Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and serving as a potential option in midfield for Barry Lewtas’ under-21s side is the current working arrangement for the 33-year-old, who was invited to take on this responsibility by Liverpool Academy director Alex Inglethorpe.
A matter of months into the new role and stepping out onto the playing surface at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby remains a surreal experience for Spearing, who has admitted building relationships with many of the youngsters within the Academy has played a crucial part in his ability to hit the ground running.
“It has been incredible. I have loved absolutely every second of it. The stuff I have learned, you will never learn elsewhere,” he told the ECHO. “The way of playing, the detail of the training sessions and the meetings where you learn from Alex [Inglethorpe] and find out what an incredible person he is to work for have been brilliant. Alex glues you in and I’m very fortunate to learn from someone like him. Even the other staff around like Marc Bridge-Wilkinson have been fantastic for me, the chefs and the kitmen – it’s a great vibe everyday and you learn things from people you may not have thought you would have.
“The role is quite new to the game. It has been something some clubs have done over the last couple of years and when Alex asked me to come and do it, I had no idea what it entailed. At the end of the day, I want to become a coach. Right now, I couldn’t have asked for a better transition as I’m still able to train every day, demand standards and show everything on and off the field that Alex wants the boys to follow.
“It has taken a while to get used to, having been in the professional game for so long,” continued Spearing on adjusting to featuring in matches for the under-21s earlier this summer. “There are different ways of training, different patterns and different training times and I was just trying to get my body around that when starting out. The first couple of weeks for me was about breaking down walls with the boys and speaking to the lads to let me on their side and to trust me. Once those barriers were broken, the football came easily and I started to gain relationships on and off the field with the boys. We are now working on individual things and helping them get better. It has been an absolute honour to put on the crest and wear the red kit again. It just feels like home and there’s not one bad word I could say about it.
“I love playing football and that is what’s driven me since I was seven years of age. The role at the Academy just felt right as my Tranmere contract was coming to an end, I’m not getting any younger and I have three children and a family to look after. The longevity of the plan that has come with the offer from Alex outweighed the option of year-to-year playing in the game. I found myself coaching the game from training a lot more in recent times, I still love the training I do now but something that really interested me was the coaching side.”
Academy prospects such as Bobby Clark and Stefan Bajcetic have been handed Premier League opportunities by Jurgen Klopp so far this season, with the latter in particular seizing a well-earned chance after impressing during the Reds’ pre-season tour of the Far East. Relating to those within the under-18s and under-21s is something that comes naturally to Spearing having once been in the exact same position.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the standout example of recent times as to what can be achieved by players progressing through the ranks, who have a multitude of resources to support their development and state-of-the-art facilities that leave players desperate to return to training.
“When I look back now on my career in the Academy, two of the coaches have parted in Steve Heighway and Dave Shannon but I look back at the likes of Hughie McAuley, John McMahon, Bobby Johnson and Paul Lever – they all gave me something different,” explained Spearing.
“The Academy is a crucial place for the players to learn their trade and they will gain experiences to take into their own game. If I can help in any way, having been out there in the professional game, I will make sure to do that. My goal is for them to challenge our first-team players or, if not, still go to make a nice career for themselves. I’m in a very fortunate position and it’s an important one as I want these lads to live their dreams.
“Football, when I was coming through, is completely different to now. Players today have the best facilities, the best food, the best equipment and some of the best physios and fitness coaches. The lads have everything in front of them and can improve in every department by watching clips back or speaking with managers and coaches. The game has changed since I was there, the building has changed and the chefs have changed. They can’t, in my eyes, probably be given any more than what they have currently because they have the best of the best.”
As well as supporting individuals on their respective paths to the professional game, Spearing has set his sights on taking his coaching credentials to the next level. Prior to accepting his current position, the 2007 FA Youth Cup winner had been offering his services to the under-16s for two years alongside completing his coaching badges.
Michael Beale, Neil Critchley and Steve Cooper are three individuals to have learned their trade in the Academy before going on to accept management roles at Championship level. Steven Gerrard, one of Spearing’s former Liverpool team-mates, has also followed a comparable route after starting out as the Reds’ under-18s boss in 2017.
“If I take a path similar to him, I would be very fortunate,” said Spearing of Gerrard’s journey after calling time on his playing days.
He added: “I will strive and work hard to go and get that. Right now, all I can do is concentrate on the journey and the opportunity I have been given. I will learn and see what comes. There is a lot of hard work ahead but the end goal is to get myself out there in the big wide world of the professional game.
Jay says “Steve was one of the people who passed on the message to say ‘Good luck and learn’ after I was appointed. He told me the same thing I have already explained about Alex being an incredible person to work for and that he’s well-educated, well-regarded and there’s no better person to learn from.
“The Academy is a great place to learn but also make mistakes behind the scenes, without the cameras and pundits, where I won’t be crucified or sacked after five games. I hope to follow in the footsteps of the staff who have come before because you’ve got the likes of Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest and Neil Critchley at Aston Villa, who have come through and gone on to make a name for themselves.”
