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Liverpool star: Why Steven Gerrard will be a success next season
LIVERPOOL midfielder Lucas Leiva has backed Steven Gerrard to be a success after it was announced he will managed the club's Under-18s next season.
Steven Gerrard will manager Liverpool Under-18s next season
Gerrard, 36, joined Liverpool's academy in February as a youth coach but has aligned himself closely with the Under-18s and will now assume full-time responsibility.
Current under-18 boss Neil Critchley will now take charge of the Under-23s, with existing Under-23 coach Mike Garrity becoming part of Critchley's backroom team.
Lucas Leiva backs Steven Gerrard for success
And Lucas, who played alongside Gerrard between 2007 and 2015, has no doubt the former Liverpool captain will be the perfect role model for the youngsters.
The Brazilian told Sky Sports: "I have been around at the academy a couple of times and he is very excited.
"I think it is the best place for him at this moment, somewhere he can learn a lot.
"I am 100 per cent sure that he will have a lot of success, and good memories as well, because he is a guy who works really hard.
"He is a role model - for me for a long time, and, for sure, for all the players who he will coach now. He is possibly the best man to show which way you have to go to be successful."