In this exclusive interview for CV Academy, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders gives a brilliant and detailed insight into the first part of his coaching career.

He reveals the coaching greats who first inspired him and describes how, after injury ended his playing aspirations at a young age, he worked to turn a short internship at PSV Eindhoven into a professional contract that set him on his coaching journey.

He then reflects on his next major step, moving without a single word of Portuguese to work at the Porto Academy, and his relationship with Vítor Frade, the creator of the tactical periodisation methodology now used by so many top clubs and coaches.

It’s a fabulous insight for any young coach starting out in the modern game.