A desire to be the best and not give anything less than 100 per cent is one of the key reasons behind Kevin Stewart's whirlwind season at Anfield so far, according to Academy director Alex Inglethorpe.

Having started 2015-16 on loan at Swindon Town and finding himself playing against his parent club in a friendly back in August, the former Tottenham Hotspur utility man then suffered an injury the following month that resulted in an extended spell on the sidelines.

But Jürgen Klopp’s arrival as Liverpool manager soon saw Stewart handed an unexpected opportunity, when he was deployed in the centre of midfield for the FA Cup third-round tie away at Exeter City.

On a tricky surface, the 22-year-old earned many plaudits for his accomplished display and further chances eventually brought a Barclays Premier League bow as he appeared off the bench in the 6-0 thrashing of Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Klopp was suitably impressed and the boyhood Liverpool fan put pen to paper on a new contract with the Reds in February.

Inglethorpe, who coached Stewart during his previous spell at Spurs, insists he is a prime example of what can be achieved through sheer hard work and determination.

“Kevin is obsessive about improving and getting better,” Inglethorpe told Liverpoolfc.com.

“Obviously I have known him for a long time now, since I coached him at Tottenham.

“He has come in and quietly gone about his work. Last year he had a couple of loan spells to get some game time, and he is someone that I think everyone in Kirkby would agree, staff and players, that Kevin probably sets the example in what an Academy day should look like.

“Kevin is first in and last out and sometimes you have to ask him to slow down and rest up a little bit because he is so determined to succeed.

“For me, Kevin was the example to the rest of the Academy of how you should try to live your life if you are desperate to get where you want to go.”

Another Academy graduate earning many plaudits this term has been Sheyi Ojo.

After a successful loan spell in the Championship with Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 18-year-old winger returned and marked his Anfield debut with a brilliant goal in front of the Kop against Exeter in the FA Cup replay.

After continuing to impress for the U21s and in training, Klopp gave the former MK Dons youngster a first Premier League appearance last weekend as a substitute against Southampton.

Inglethorpe believes there is lot more to come from Ojo, though, and has challenged him to try to earn his first start in the top flight.

“That experience at Wolves would have helped him and Sheyi is starting to realise what it will take for him to have an impact on the first team,” he added.

“I really like working with Sheyi and he is someone who I have seen a huge improvement in over the last two to three years.

“It was fantastic to see him make his Premier League debut and the next challenge for him is to try now to make a Premier League start.

“He has got a lot of wonderful competition around him and what he has to do is find a way of ticking the next box, which is to start a Premier League game.”

This week, Klopp took the players in his squad who were not away on international duty, including many youngsters from the Kirkby complex, to a warm-weather training camp in Tenerife.

Inglethorpe considers the trip an invaluable opportunity for the Academy representatives to catch the manager’s watchful eye.

He said: “It’s great the manager decided to take so many of the younger lads away with his squad and what an incredible opportunity that was for them to try to impress him.”