LIVERPOOL Reserves return to action against Manchester United tonight, Thursday, kick off 7pm.

Gary Abblett’s men travel to Altrincham’s ground, Moss Lane, in a more confident mood after last week’s 2-0 defeat of Middlesbrough at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

That third win of the campaign, taking the champions up to eighth, had been a long time coming and Abblett said it had been a difficult season so far.

“We’ve had to do soul searching, take a look at the training, I’ve asked myself if I’ve been bringing the lads on in the right way and questioned whether we have been doing anything different to last season when we won the title,” he said.

“And the answer is no. We’ve just found it particularly tough.

“We’ve used a lot of players this season, I think it’s now up to 53 already.

“That’s meant a lack of continuity and with bringing in new players as well we’ve been trying to integrate them into the system and the way we do things.

“In any victory there’s always room for improvement but it was a positive that we won against Middlesbrough.”