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Liverpool FC's crop of youngsters are not feeling the heat – despite learning on the “biggest stage” said Brendan Rodgers.

The Reds boss is determined to shield his fledgling stars from the pressure of being involved in the fierce race to secure Champions League football.

Rodgers has placed his faith in a number of young players since he took the Liverpool job last year and handed 21-year-old Joao Carlos Teixeira his debut on Wednesday night at Fulham.

Raheem Sterling, Jon Flanagan, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson have all played major roles for the Reds this season.

And Rodgers has also used teenagers Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith during the campaign while Jordan Rossiter and Cameron Brannagan have been in matchday squads.

The Reds boss is not afraid to field emerging talents at Anfield and says his young guns have taken the pursuit of Champions League football in their stride.

“If you look at the last number of games you can see that the pressure isn’t affecting them,” said Rodgers.

“We’ve had a 19-year-old in Raheem playing out wide, Jon Flanagan is only 21, Philippe Coutinho is 21 and Jordan Henderson is 23. Other young players have come off the bench in matches and been excellent. They are concentrating on performance and it’s my job to release that pressure from them so they can play.

“We have a great belief in the young players we have got and I want to build on that over the coming years.”

Rodgers has won many admirers for the way he has nurtured many of Liverpool’s up and coming players and helped them make marked improvements.

“I take great pride in making people better both on and off the field,” the Liverpool boss added.

“I look at Jon Flanagan and the development of him since I’ve been here. We are still evolving and I take great pride in seeing the development of these young players.

“With so many young players in our squad that learning is taking place on the biggest stages of all. We just need to continue to work how we have been. Pressure can only hurt you if you let it hurt you. We will just continue to just talk about football and focus on making people better.”

Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, has praised Teixeira for his nine-minute cameo at Craven Cottage.

“It has only been a matter of time,” the captain said of the Portuguese player’s senior call-up. “I watched this kid a couple of years ago playing for Sporting Lisbon against Liverpool at Anfield in a youth game; I could see straight away he was the best player on the pitch.

“Credit to him, he has kept working hard. He has been invited to train with the first team. He is competing, he is trying to improve and learn. He listens – I’ve just been speaking to him in the dressing room and you can see he wants to learn and listen.

“He has got respect for the other players in the dressing room. This is the start for him now – I’ve just told him that he needs to push on, keep learning and building on what he has just achieved. He deserved his debut and he made a special tackle which helped us get over the line.”