Rodney McAree on joining league champions Liverpool and the wait for further title glory

The 15-year-old Dungannon lad was joining a club packed with stars, and who had dominated English football for two decades.

Remarkably though that would be the Anfield giants’ last title for 30 years as they finally ended all those years of hurt this season.

Here McAree looks back on those heady days, and looks forward to more glory for the Reds under Jurgen Klopp.

How did your move to Liverpool come about?

“When I was a young lad I was invited over by a few clubs.

“Norwich City showed a lot of interest and I was back and forth to them about eight or 1o times.

“Other opportunities came off the back of it, but I wanted to keep my options open.

“Liverpool were one of the clubs who invited me over to train with the Under-18s, I was 14 or 15 at the time.

“Steve Heighway was obviously the Youth Development Officer at Liverpool at that stage, but the scout in Northern Ireland was a great man called Billy Large.

“I’m not sure if he had spotted me playing with Dungannon Juniors or Northern Ireland.

“The trial went really well and they ended up offering me a deal.

“It was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up, and obviously being a Liverpool fan that enticed me to go.

“Everything felt right and I settled in straight away.

“Jim Magilton was already at the club and he helped me a lot.

“He looked out for me and took me under his wing, he was a great lad.

“He had stayed in the digs the previous year and had spoken very highly about them, so that settled me as well.

What was it like joining such a successful club?

“I made the move over to Liverpool in mid-1990.

“Obviously the club had just won the First Division and the squad was packed full of top players, there were a lot of legends, but there were also a few who were coming towards the end of their career.

“But I don’t think anyone would have thought the club would go 30 years without winning another title.

“That’s just the way it went, obviously there were a few near misses during that time, but thankfully they have won it again now.

Did you have much interaction with the first team?

“Back in those days there weren’t enough changing facilities for everyone at Melwood so we would all meet at Anfield in the morning.

“The YTS guys would all have to be there for 8.45am to get everything ready then we would all jump on a big coach to go to Melwood - first team, reserves and U18 were all travelling together.

“It was an amazing experience as a young player that you were mingling with the senior pros.

“You could have been sitting beside anyone on the coach, no matter who it was we all had a bit of craic and banter.

One of your heroes, Kenny Dalglish, was obviously still manager at that time, how was that for you?

“At Liverpool the first team would always have had Monday off after a game so the apprentices, reserves and staff would end up playing a game.

“It was usually about 15-a-side. You had the likes of Kenny, Roy Evans, Ronnie Moran and Steve Heighway playing, and then there would have been about seven or eight young lads making up the numbers.

“It was a bit surreal playing with these Liverpool legends.

“When they were handing out the bibs though you didn’t really want to be on the staff team though as the pressure was on, they always wanted to win.

“I remember Kenny would have played until they were winning!

Did you have to pinch yourself when you were working with these guys on a daily basis?

“Nothing fazed me at that age.

“It was obviously very different times to now but my mum and dad would have dropped me off at the airport when I was 12 or 13 and I would have jumped on a plane to England, to be picked up by someone who they hadn’t even met at the other side.

“It’s very different now, but as I say I became used to that and it meant that I wasn’t overawed by anything.

“Maybe if I had been, I maybe would have appreciated things a bit more.

It could have been different though if you had taken up the opportunity to join Liverpool’s big rivals?

“Back then United had offered me a deal.

“I remember Six Alex Ferguson brought me and my mum and dad over to watch them against Aston Villa.

“Obviously around that time they would have been signing the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers.

“Maybe in hindsight you look back and think what might have been if you had come through with those players, but I don’t regret my decision as I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Liverpool.

There were a lot of Irish players at the club did that help you settle?

“Yeah there was a great mix of Irish lads at the club at that time.

“Obviously the likes of Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton were in the first team, but there was Marc Kenny and Tony Cousins and others in my group who I’m still friendly with today.

“Whelan was great. He looked out for us all and took us under his wing.

“I remember my brother coming up to visit me when he was a student in London.

“Ronnie knew he was a big Liverpool fan and he invited us out for a few drinks with the first team.

“My brother was in his element playing pool with them and chatting away.

“There were very few you could have had a bad word about. It was a very inclusive club and the senior players always made you feel involved.

“No-one looked down their nose at you.

“I ended up playing about 40 or 50 games for the Reserves and got to play with a lot of legends. That’s something I’m very proud of.

“Looking back maybe if I had worked a bit harder I might have got a new contract.

Do you think having to work as well as train was good grounding for you?

“The YTS was good for us to learn our trade.

“We maybe got it a bit easier at Liverpool than some of the other lads who had to do painting around the ground and stuff.

“We had to clean the changing rooms, put the kit bundles together and do the boots, but we were always wrapped up after 45 minutes after training.

“We had seen the likes of Steve McManaman progress from what we were doing to being involved with the first team.

“That gave you extra incentive as a young player.

“The kids today are used to the set-up now and that’s just the way it is.

“I went over to Manchester City for part of my Pro Licence.

“Their Under-18/19 squad were coming out after training and getting into Audi sports cars. I remember at that age I had a second-hand Vauxhall Nova and I thought I was class!

Jurgen Klopp has made a massive impact at Liverpool, what do you think sets him apart from other coaches?

“There’s a great togetherness in the squad, you can see that in the way they celebrated the title win.

“Klopp has really instilled that in his squad.

“But he has also bought into everything the club is about.

“I remember reading about him when he just arrived at the club he headed off to a local pub to chat with local fans to get a feel about the club and the city.

“He has fully embraced it and that has been one of the key aspects to his success.

“His man-management is one of his biggest strengths.

“He always gets the best out of his players, their work-rate and effort is phenomenal and it’s every game.

“The consistency he gets out of them is unbelievable.

“Hopefully we won’t have to wait as long for another title win.

“United were the dominant force in the ’90s and early 2000s, but hopefully Liverpool can add to their title count.

“But there are so many good teams in the league, and you obviously have the likes of Chelsea and United who will be looking to get back to where they were.

“It’s unbelievable to think there’s such a massive gap between Liverpool and Man City as they are a fantastic side.

“It was a long time coming and I certainly made the most of it.

“I had a good celebration on the Thursday night when we won it, I was glad we got it over the line.

Another young Dungannon player has recently made the same journey to Anfield, I’m sure you were delighted to see Conor Bradley sign a pro deal with Liverpool?

“It’s fantastic to see he has signed a professional contract with Liverpool.

“I’m sure his family are very proud of him, and he should be very proud of himself because he has put a lot of time and effort to get where he has got to.

“I would love to see him break through at Anfield, obviously it’s very difficult to break through at a club like Liverpool, especially now that they have just won the league.

“But you see with Jurgen Klopp that he is willing to give the young players the chance.

“He has given young players their opportunity in the first team this season.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to see Conor get a chance because his work ethic is right where it has to be, and he certainly has the desire to go on and achieve success and get that first-team debut at Liverpool.

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hopefully we’ll see him make that break through to the first team.”

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