LIVERPOOL'S Scottish starlet Ben Doak admits he's feeding into a Mo Salah masterclass after a sensational debut for Scotland Under 21s.
The 16-year-old took just eight minutes to make an immediate impact on his debut for Scot Gemmill's side this week as he scored the second goal for the new-look young Scots in a 3-1 win in Belfast against Northern Ireland.
Former Celtic kid Doak has been touted as one of the most exciting young Scots of a generation after making the move in the summer from the Scottish champions to Anfield.
He has hit the ground running at the Merseyside club after netting for them in a recent UEFA Youth League win at Napoli.
Doak was fast-tracked into the Under 21s side at international level after previously missing out on the Under 17s Finals with Scotland in Israel in May through injury.
And as he prepares to face the second game in the double-header against Northern Ireland in Paisley this afternoon, Doak admits he is improving all the time while at Anfield after studying the inspirational Egyptian legend.
He said: "My debut for the Under 21s just felt like any other game to be honest. I wasn't really nervous. The boys have been good with me and I have settled in and I felt very comfortable.
"For me recently, there's been a lot of adjustments, but I think I've been comfortable and I think I have done really well with the changes.
"It's mostly been about me getting to know people - the football has not really changed - it's been about getting to know the boys and the staff at the new club.
" I just need to try and keep getting better, particularly on the off-the-ball stuff.
"I am trying and make what I do on the ball a lot better. That's one of my strengths, but you can always do better.
"I look up to Mo Salah obviously. Even if he is not having the greatest of games he always pops up with a goal. His numbers are incredible and speak for themselves.
"I scored against Napoli in the Youth League. It helps that I've done really well in the first couple of games. I've got all the numbers to back that up as well.
"Even if I am not having a good game, I can just look back to what I have done earlier in the season to keep my confidence up.
"Six months ago you would never have found me defending whatsoever. And that's the difference between making it into a first team player rather than just a youth player.
"I am trying to turn my all-round game into a strength.
"I have not seen the first team too often, but I think that's deliberate and to make you want to get up there. If I saw them all the time it wouldn't be normal. It should be a privilege to be up there."
And Doak insists he has no regrets about the move from Celtic, after he made two sub appearances for the Hoops last term before his move to Anfield.
He said: "I was just trying to think of the best path to go down to get better as a football player.
"But once I went down there to Liverpool and saw the standards and the facilities, it's top, top level. You don't get any better than where I am at right now.
"I'm in the best place.
"Celtic are the club that made me the person who I am and the player I am. I owe everything to Celtic.
"I still speak to a lot of the boys. I keep up with the results."
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