Former Newcastle captain Lee Clark says Liverpool was the right move for son Bobby.

Clark admits Bobby wasn't enjoying himself while with Newcastle's academy.

"It's worked out terrific, he's settled in so quickly," he told ChronicleLive. "Liverpool couldn't have done any more for him. They got him in with a lovely family in the Merseyside area and now he's got his own place down there. It's been a terrific move for Bobby, we've been delighted with how it's gone. His progress has been even quicker than we imagined.

"A lot of people don't believe me but I never affected the outcome of which club Bobby was going to go to. It was Bobby's decision, albeit forced on him due to various different things to leave Newcastle, and then he decided that Liverpool was his club.

"At Newcastle, it just got to the stage where I was working away and getting feedback that Bobby was coming in from his training sessions at the club and didn't have that beaming smile on his face. He didn't seem to be enjoying his football.

"We discussed it and he decided it was his time to move on. So when he made that decision we had to support him as a family.

"Of course, I'm a Geordie. I'm back and white through and through and there aren't many fathers and sons that have played for the club. As soon as he got into the academy at Newcastle, could that dream become a reality? But I wasn't going to make that happen to the detriment of my son. If he was unhappy there, it's his happiness that is most important to me. I just backed Bobby every step of the way.

"As his parent first and foremost, I backed him up 100%. Now, we speak on the phone every day about different things and I'll advise him. I'll tell him how I would go about things from a player's point of view or a coaching point of view. I can give him different slants on how to approach different situations."