Joe Hardy spoke exclusively with us and provided some insight on his time at Liverpool Football Club as well as his plans for the career.
Hardy, who originally started his career at the Manchester City academy, was signed by Liverpool FC in 2019 and was with the club until 2021, playing predominantly for the u23 side as well as making two substitute appearances for the first team – making his debut for Liverpool in a 4th round FA Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town.
Joe Hardy spoke with Brendan Doyle of the DaveOCKOP website and we asked him about his time at Liverpool FC.
When asked about reflections on his time at Anfield, Hardy was full of praise for the club and what he learnt there at the time. Working with Jurgen Klopp is part of the pull at Liverpool, and Hardy had nothing but positive things to say about the Reds manager:
“It’s done me really good [working with Klopp], from the couple of seasons I spent there I learnt so much.
“Some of the experiences I had were unbelievable and I’ll take them onboard for my whole career.
“He [Klopp] made me a better player, even in the short period I was there, I came back a much better player.”
Hardy trained with many youngsters in the development squad while he was at Liverpool, some of whom are trying to break into the 1st team now.
“Tyler Morton. Day in, day out everything done perfectly”, Hardy answeredd when asked who the best trainer in the squad was.
“You can see that when he goes into games. His work ethic and everything is just spot on. Not surprised to see him up there.”
The ex-Liverpool player backed his old teammate when asked if Morton could make the step up to first team football this season, in light of Liverpool’s midfield dilemma:
“Definitely, yeah.
“He won’t struggle defensively or with the ball. He’s got the legs and will work hard for them and that’s probably what they need at the minute.”
Joe Hardy managed to achieve something many dream of and that’s making a senior appearance for LFC before he left; making his debut against Shrewsbury Town in the 4th round of the FA Cup.
Hardy came on as a substitute as Liverpool came from behind to secure a 4-1 win.
The 24-year-old cites that game as one of his career highlights in his footballing journey so far:
“[One of my career highlights] definitely – my family was there and all the hard work I had done over the years, that’s what you worked hard for from when I started playing as a 7-year-old for Tranmere Rovers to making my debut for Liverpool.
“It was a great evening for the club and for myself.”
Still only 24, Joe Hardy is still mapping out his career and establishing himself as a player. He finished off by revealing his goals for his career going forward:
“I’m just trying to kickstart my career again and get my feet on the ground.
“Start scoring goals and get some game-time and get back to my full match fitness like I had at Liverpool and see where it gets me.”
Interview done by Brendan Doyle.
On behalf of all at DaveOCKOP, a huge thanks to Joe Hardy for giving us his time for the interview.
