Liverpool midfielder McConnell: I'm learning so much from senior teammates

Liverpool midfielder James McConnell feels he's always improving training with senior players.

McConnell made his senior debut last week in the Europa League win against Toulouse.

It was a great experience," he told the official Liverpool matchday programme of linking up with the seniors during the summer.

I felt it was a big opportunity, especially as it was one with a challenge as I was playing in a position that I hadn't played in for a while, but I thought I did well and hopefully it set me up for further opportunities in the season.

I was preparing for pre-season with the U21s so anything with the first team was a bonus and to play in all five games and to get a half in most of those matches was a big bonus. I didn't expect that at all.

You learn a lot from being around the senior players. You see all the work that they put in and how they react after wins or losses, keeping level-headed and how professional they are. I think it really helps you mature quickly and get ready to step into the senior game.

There's also loads of things you can learn from them individually. [Alexis] Mac Allister is a World Cup winner, [Dominik] Szoboszlai's a top, top player. You can only learn from people like them and [Wataru] Endo, Curtis [Jones], Ryan [Gravenberch] and Harvey [Elliott].

They also give me little tips. For instance, Harvey was helping me when I was a bit unaware of some of the positional stuff."