Danny Wilson Ready To Fight For First Team Place

DANNY WILSON pulled on a Liverpool shirt for the first time at the weekend – and then vowed to remain in the thoughts of manager Roy Hodgson.
The 18-year-old, signed from Glasgow Rangers for an initial fee of £2million last month, played the second half of the 1-0 friendly defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday.
Wilson arrived at Anfield having gained a burgeoning reputation during his debut season at Rangers, where he appeared in the Champions League and won the Scottish PFA and FWA Young Player of the Year awards.
But for now, the defender is keeping his feet firmly grounded while determined to play his way into Roy Hodgson’s first-team plans.
“I don’t have that high an expectation for this season, I’m just trying to prove myself,” said Wilson.

“I am trying not to set too many targets for myself. I just want to settle in as soon as possible and give the manager something to think about, but it’ll be up to him how many games I get.
“My aim for the season is to be there or thereabouts.”
Some observers in Scotland believe Wilson has moved south of the border too early in his career, but the player has reiterated his drive to render such fears irrelevant.
“I suppose there is a bit of that, but I’m here to do it for myself,” he said. “People will always have their own opinions, and it’s my job to prove those wrong. Hopefully I can do that.”
Wilson was an impressive performer at centre-back in front of more than 50,000 at the Borussiapark on Sunday having replaced Jamie Carragher at half-time.
And he said: “It was great. It was my first game and there were some nerves before it. But I felt comfortable when I came on, I have been playing with the boys for over a week now and I’m starting to feel part of it.
“It was nice to be involved so early on I wasn’t really expecting it. To get my first 45 minutes under my belt is something I can build on in the coming weeks.

“But I think it’s a bit too early for me to be thinking of getting into the first team on Thursday for the Europa League game (against FK Rabotnicki).”
Wilson added: “I’ve moved down to Liverpool. I’ve not seen much of the city because I’ve been training and been away with the team.
“But I’ll try and see a bit of it now.
“Everybody says it is such a great city and I can see that already. People tell me it’s like Glasgow, so hopefully it’s just as nice.
“I’ve bumped into a few fans at training and they’ve been very supportive of me, so hopefully that can continue.”
Sunday’s game also saw the first senior exposure for two of Liverpool’s highly-rated Academy prospects having impressed during training at Melwood.
Both 16-year-old Fernandez Suso and 15-year-old Raheem Sterling were introduced during the closing moments, the latter even going into the referee’s notebook for one clattering challenge.
And Liverpool manager Hodgson explained: “We initially thought we’d need them to have 18 players. As it turned out, Emiliano Insua came with us as did Fabio Aurelio, so we had 20 players so they weren’t quite as necessary as I thought they were going to be.
“But I didn’t want to put them on the bench and give them the hope of playing the game without giving them five or six minutes on the pitch.
“It’s not much, but when you are 15 in the case of Sterling or 16 in the case of Suso, and you get a chance to play against Borussia Moenchengladbach in front of 50,000, then it’s an experience.

“It’s an experience I hope they will take with them for the next two or three years back to the reserves and the Academy.
“I hope it will inspire them to have a good career with Liverpool.”