This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
"Is right - our boy."
Those four simple words summed it up for everyone associated with Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College in Walton today after old boy Jordan Rossiter sensationally scored on his Liverpool debut last night.
The 17-year-old from Everton Valley made a dream first team bow when he netted with a stunning 30-yard strike against Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup.
And apart from the youngster's family themselves there can't have been a prouder person inside Anfield than his former headteacher and Reds season ticket holder Paul Dickinson.
Mr Dickinson said: "The chap who sits in front of me in the ground is a former Archbishop Beck pupil himself and he just turned to me and roared: 'Is right - our boy.'
"Everyone at the school is so proud of Jordan having made it into Liverpool's first team and making such an instant impact.
"I guess Brendan Rodgers wouldn't have told him too early that he was playing but we'd got wind of it reading yesterday's ECHO so we were all really excited for him and I thought he played fab.
"When I came into work this morning the school was buzzing. Not just the other teachers but support staff and caretakers too, everyone was talking about Jordan.
"A lot of our students know Jordan and some of them have played alongside him, so he's still very much seen as one of our own."
As well as Rossiter's obvious talents as a player, Mr Dickinson was impressed with his former student's attitude on the Anfield turf.
He said: "You've got to be a special 17-year-old to be playing for Liverpool's first team but it was bizarre to see him telling senior pros what to do on the pitch.
"He shows such confidence but never arrogance.
"My staff who had seen the game on TV told me you should have seen his face when Middlesbrough equalised.
"He was so disappointed which tells you everything really, he's got such a will to win."
Having brought success on the field to Archbishop Beck - including captaining the school to victory in the 59th Liverpool ECHO Schoolboys Cup final back in 2011 - Mr Dickinson has been thrilled by Rossiter's progress.
He said: "It was clear that Jordan was one of the stand-out players in our school and he helped us to become the first team to win national titles two years on the run.
"We could see that he was something special from a young age and knew he was going on to great things.
"As a young man he was always pleasurable to deal with and his road to success has been a classic example of hard work and dedication.
"We all knew that given his talent that football would be his priority so we created and tailored a programme for him that allowed him to train part-time with Liverpool while continuing with his studies and he managed to get some good GCSE results.
"He hasn't returned since leaving yet but that's just the kind of person he is, he wouldn't want to be seen as having a 'look at me' attitude.
"I'm sure he'll be back now though and we'd all be delighted to see him because he's an inspiration to all our other students."
Source: Liverpool Echo
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
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