It’s 7.30 and a group of Reds coaches are preparing for their morning five-a-side in the Ian Frodsham Indoor Arena.
It’s a regular game, but this one isn't. Not today.
Because this time, a living legend is joining in. Better bring your A-game.
Steven Gerrard’s return to Liverpool last month caught nobody by surprise. It was on the cards from the moment he called time on his illustrious playing career that he would go back to the club. His appointment in a wide-ranging coaching role at the Academy felt, Gerrard said, like “completing the circle.”
But what is less well known is that Gerrard prepared for his new role by travelling to Kirkby for those morning games, for weeks before his appointment was finalised.