NEC Nijmegen director Wilco van Schaik is happy to see former coach Pep Lijnders welcomed back at Liverpool.

Lijnders was sacked as NEC boss in May after just four months in charge following the club's failure to land promotion to the Dutch Eredivisie, but Van Schaik was still impressed by what he offered.

“I have seen him do things that I've never seen in the Netherlands," he told Dutch media.

“He got to experience a kind of pressure at a club that you only learn when you're standing on the pitch as a coach.

“I have a lot of respect for a 35-year-old man who got here at a difficult time and kept fighting until the very last match."

“I get why Liverpool hired him again, because he has some unique qualities. The whole of Dutch football can learn things from him in certain areas. He's far ahead of his time.

“Lijnders is a brilliant thinker and people like him can help Dutch football forward in certain areas. I have seen training exercises from him that players absolutely loved.

“Two of the best coaches in the Netherlands I know both say that they use Lijnders' training exercises occasionally.

“This all doesn't mean he's the perfect coach, like we've seen here, but I still hold him in high esteem. It's a pity the project at NEC didn't work out."