Former Liverpool prospect reveals how club generously continues to help ex-academy hopefuls
St Patrick's Athletic and Northern Ireland right-back Ryan McLaughlin was at Anfield between 2011 and 2016
Premier League giants Liverpool have been hailed for their generosity - by one former player who is doing his coaching badges through the Anfield club.
Ryan McLaughlin is now with St Patrick’s Athletic, but he spent five years with the Reds between 2011 and 2016, and got agonisingly close to a first-team breakthrough there.
He left for Oldham and also lined out for Blackpool, Rochdale and Morecambe, before joining Pat’s last July.
But he hasn’t been forgotten by his former club, with McLaughlin revealing: “They still contact us to this day, email us about different courses you could be doing.
“They are putting me through my B licence at the minute and I don't have to pay a penny. Those things, they are just helping players who come through the academy.
“They are giving me punditry, media work, things like that, which I'm very thankful for too.
“It's brilliant, I know. They don't have to. Obviously there is a stigma, when players leave clubs, the clubs don't help them out afterwards.
“But Liverpool have always been very good, definitely with me and a lot of people I know who were in my age group.
“If you want to go and learn Spanish, if you want to go and learn the guitar, they will help you. Coaching badges, media work, all of it, they'll help you out and sort you out.
“I talk for Ireland, so I made good relationships there and I still speak to them now. They would stay in contact with me and ask me if I want to do different things.
“It is good, the relationships I have built up over there. It's one of those clubs, I know it's massive, but it's actually quite a family club.
“I know it's a cliche, but they are all down to earth, normal people.”
McLaughlin has kept in touch with some of his former coaches, while he has fond memories of playing alongside some star players.
“The managers I worked under, there was obviously Michael Beale, he's at Rangers, he was an unbelievable coach when he was at the reserves,” he said.
“I had a guy, Rodolfo Borrell, he was Pep's assistant at Man City. You had all these brilliant coaches.
“Steve Cooper, who was Nottingham Forest manager, he was our coach as well. And then Alex Inglethorpe, who is head of the academy,
“Then the players, the young ones who were in your age group before they went up to the first-team, they help you.
“The likes of Conor Coady, Raheem Sterling, they all went up quite early, and when you went up they helped you out.
“Brendan Rodgers, obviously, as the manager, he is obviously from the North too. Brendan Rodgers brought me away on his first pre-season tour.
“So things like that, he has given me unbelievable experiences that I can only be thankful for too.”
McLaughlin played under Rodgers in pre-season friendlies, including a 2014 clash with Shamrock Rovers at the Aviva Stadium.
“I'm still very close to everyone at the academy today,” he said. “It's something I look back on fondly, definitely.”
As a right-back trying to make the breakthrough at Liverpool, McLaughlin can appreciate the achievement of his fellow Northern Irishman Conor Bradley.
“It’s been unbelievable,” said the five-time capped Northern Ireland international. “I was doing punditry for one of the (Liverpool) Under-18 games years ago and he came on as a striker.
“They were saying he was from Northern Ireland. I kept an eye on him from there. I know the scout who brought him over well, he also brought me over and was telling me he’s really good.
“I think the best thing about Conor is that he’s just a normal down to earth fella. You wouldn't think he played for Liverpool if you spoke to him. He’s just a normal guy.
“The best thing is probably his mentality. He doesnt let it phase him playing for Liverpool’s first team.
“People could look at it like they are playing behind Mo Salah, and think, ‘flip, whats going on here?’. But it’s just a normal game for Conor.
“He plays now like he played as a kid, but I'm sure he’s also improved so much technically too with the coaching he’s been getting over there.
“He’s gone into a position where there is pressure because you are filling someone like Trent (Alexander Arnold)’s boots, who was out injured.
“He didn't look out of place at all, and in fact it was the opposite, he was unbelievable. It’s unbelievable to see him doing so well.”
McLaughlin, who arrived at St Pat’s last July, has featured in three of St Pat’s last four games after a calf injury before the President’s Cup final delayed his start to the new campaign.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s double-header, kicking off tonight against Drogheda United and away to Sligo on Monday, he said: “It's massive for us.
“We know the talent we have got in the dressing room. But we need to go out there, show it and get wins. I feel like we can do that.
“I know we didn’t have a great week last week (defeats to Derry City and Shelbourne) but we have two games now in quick succession where we can put things right.”
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