Scotland U17 coach Brian McLaughlin has no doubts about the potential of Liverpool teen Ben Doak.
The young attacker joined this summer from Celtic.
McLaughlin recalls the first time he worked with Doak and the long-lasting impression the winger made on him and his fellow coaches.
"The first time I really got to know Ben was in June last year when he came to our first [post-covid] training camp - that's the first time I had the pleasure of working with him," the 48-year-old told the Liverpool Echo.
"Bringing him in for that June camp was a real case of trying to get to know Ben, but the first thing I noticed when he came into the camp, and one thing that hadn't changed, was his ambition.
"His high hopes and ambitions of wanting to play, that's the first thing I noticed about him. I also noticed straight away that he's a really good lad and I think he understood very quickly that if you're going to have those ambitions then you're going to have to train differently.
"You need to train with those ambitions because it's not just going to come to you, and, to be fair to Ben, he gradually got better and better and better. Every time he turned up to training he was the first to arrive and last to leave.
"For us as staff, it was great getting to know him and understand what he wanted to achieve in the game and then it was down to us to make sure we provided him with the challenges and demands he wanted. I think one of the big things we noticed was his level of consistency, through all the games he played until the injury he suffered in March."
Former Hoops midfielder McLaughlin also said: "As I say, he's got massive ambitions of where he wants to play and he felt this [moving to Liverpool] was his best pathway.
"I know certainly Celtic rated him very highly and the manager [Ange Postecoglou] gave him his debut. Celtic is a club with a history of playing young players so it must have been a big decision for Ben, does he take this big challenge at an early age? Obviously, he's now done it.
"One thing I was sure about is whichever pathway he chose, Liverpool or Celtic, it won't make any difference to him. He'll still train every day to maximise his potential."
