Leiva: Samba boys moving in ´right direction´

Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva believes coach Mano Menezes’ policy of playing younger players has the squad heading in the right direction.

After the disappointment of their quarter-final exit from the 2010 World Cup, Menezes was chosen to succeed Dunga as Brazil boss in July last year and has set about making his own mark on the side.With several young faces brought in for Sunday’s friendly with Scotland at London’s Emirates Stadium, Liverpool midfielder Leiva, 24, has supported Menezes’ efforts to rebuilding the side before Brazil host the 2014 World Cup.”We have the Copa America in the summer so there’s still a lot of work to do but I think we are going in the right direction,” Leiva said. “He’s trying to give an opportunity for the young players and build a new team for the World Cup in 2014.””We just have to feature in the next game and the confidence will grow all the time.”As his side prepares for the tussle with Scotland, Leiva was full of praise for another Scot – his Anfield boss Kenny Dalglish – who he said has had a strong impact at the English Premier League outfit since his arrival in January.”Well, everyone can see the atmosphere is very good at the moment,” Leiva said. “The results also are better than before. We know how important he is for the club and for the fans, so we believe that he can do a lot more good.” “We now have just eight games to play and hopefully we can finish well this season and see what happens and think about next season.”