Uniquely different talent

first 15 minutes against Southampton in particular, and other shorter spells later in the game, they were falling into the traps Armstrong and his team-mates were setting them.

The type of goal that pleases Jurgen Klopp the most is when the aggressive ambush high up the pitch produces a turnover and his players react dynamically off it. Hasenhuttl, the ‘Alpine Klopp’, is cut from the same gegenpressing cloth.

The real Klopp would undoubtedly have approved. For a combination of training ground practice meeting offthe-cuff expression in a counter-press, you’ll not find a better example than Southampton’s opening goal.

With Paul Pogba taking a fraction of a second too long on the ball while he was assessing his options, Ings springs into action and pick-pockets him on the D. At this stage you still wouldn’t put the chances of a goal any higher than 50-50, though. Maguire is several yards closer to David de Gea than the soon-to-be goal-scorer, which should make him the favourite to get to any cross that will come in from Nathan Redmond now that Ings has quickly moved the play into the box.

But it is the striker’s run by Armstrong

“Stuart can adapt to any position. Football evolves and if you want to stay at the very top you have to evolve with it.

STEVIE CAMPBELL

of inside and then – when Maguire momentarily and fatally turns his back on him to face Redmond – away from the centre-half and towards the back post that defines the attack and goal. The cushioned first touch and crisp finish wasn’t too bad either.

Houston to Hasenhuttl, with key interventions from Jackie Mcnamara and Brendan Rodgers in between, has been quite the progression for Armstrong. Even his mentor, Stevie Campbell, wouldn’t have predicted where the positional pendulum would settle at what can now be described as the peak of his career so far.

“When I had Stuart at United, I played a 4-2-3-1 in my team at that time,” said Campbell, who was the head of youth at Tannadice.

“Stuart was the No 10. Scotty Allan wanted to play it but I put Stuart there. Scotty was on the right of the three, with Ryan Dow on the left, with Dale Hilson up front. It was a really potent front four.

“I did see Stu becoming that advanced central midfielder he became at United and Celtic, bursting in to the box, but I must admit he’s changed his game recently. I didn’t see the most recent change coming.