Liverpool U18 coach Steven Gerrard admits manager Jurgen Klopp convinced him about taking a youth coaching job this season.

Gerrard turned down the MK Dons job and reveals Klopp suggested he earned his stripes away from the main action.

"We had numerous conversations and I asked Jürgen a lot of questions about what it was like," he said.

"He spoke about his experiences. It was all about the next two years to go and sample it, try it and see what it is like. He gave me the pros and the cons, and gave me invaluable advice moving forward.

"I'm enjoying the role and making loads of mistakes, but they're off-camera – which is what he suggested was the best move.

"I'm just trying to grow and learn and get used to a completely different role – and completely different job – to being a player. Now I've got more respect for managers and coaches; I used to think I was the best coach and manager in the world when I was a player.

"'What are you doing that session for? Why are you doing this?' Now, I apologise for all that and I realise how much of a difficult job it is for any coach or manager, because it's a completely different ball game."