Vying to keep in the first-team mix, Elliot Embleton has taken to the spotlight as he reflects on the past 12 months.
Elliot, it has been a bit of a roller-coaster year for yourself when you, this time last year you were playing for the under-18s and now you are getting on the bench for the first team…
It has been a big step up but it’s one I think I can make. I’m really enjoying the challenges because I have a lot of belief in my own ability on the pitch and I’m enjoying learning off the players I’m around. The likes of John O’Shea and Jermain Defoe have so much experience and I think it has helped bring my game on as well. I’m learning a lot from being up there with the first team.
How beneficial is it being around the place and involved on a first-team matchday?
It’s a great experience and even just warming up in front of that many thousand people it gets you ready for when the manager thinks you are ready. I want to be ready for whenever that moment might be and it’s great he has given us the chance to be involved because it allows us to see first-hand of what’s expected from the bench.
You brushed shoulders with Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s players on Monday - another great experience, I’m sure?
You grow up watching these kind of managers and players on TV and then one day you are involved in a Premier League match with them. It’s a good experience and the feeling you get is unbelievable.
And I suppose that takes you a step closer to making your first-team competitive debut…
I’m working towards it every day in training. It’s my dream to play in the Premier League and even just sit on the bench with that many thousand people watching – with it meaning so much to them – means a lot. I want to one day be able to do the business for them on the pitch and show people what I can do.
A lot of young lads have come through in the last year from the Academy of Light, hopefully more of the same in 2017…
Absolutely! There is a pathway and we just need to keep working hard and hopefully one day the manager spots what I’m doing, likes what he sees, and gives me a chance.
