Reaction'I just want to help the team' - Curtis Jones on right-back shift in derby win
“I want to help as much as I can,” insisted Curtis Jones after a shift at right-back in Liverpool’s Merseyside derby win on Wednesday night.
The No.17 was brought in to Arne Slot’s starting XI against Everton at Anfield, replacing Jarell Quansah in an unorthodox defensive position.
Scouser Jones helped the Reds claim a hard-fought 1-0 success over their neighbours, with Diogo Jota’s second-half strike clinching the result and restoring a 12-point advantage for the Premier League leaders.
“Yeah, of course it is [a big win],” he told Liverpoolfc.com post-match.
“We have come back after the break and have got an important run. We have started with the first game with three points and a clean sheet, so it was a perfect start.”
On being deployed on the right-hand side of defence by the head coach and how he handled the task, Jones continued: “It was just one of those things I say all the time – at the end of the day, I’m a footballer.
“Of course I want to play eight or 10 – or false nine or off the left or anything like that – [but] I just want to go and play and help the team as much as I can.
“As I said, of course I want to play eight or 10 or even six but there are lads in there who are doing a fantastic job so I’ve just got to wait for my chance. Of course I back myself all the time but at the end of the day it is the choice of the manager and his staff, and he knows what he thinks is best for the team. I respect that and I just always wait until he needs me.”
He added: “They were going long all the time so I was finding myself at the back a lot, at the back post, and I was clearing things, I was stopping shots and crosses and things like that.
“That’s part of the game and part of a right-back as well. He has trusted me in there so I have to do a job.”
Jota’s winning goal was a display of outstanding technique, the Portugal international weaving past three opposition players before slotting a reverse finish beyond Jordan Pickford in front of a buoyant Kop.
The strike was Jota’s first for the club since mid-January, and Jones detailed the appreciation for him within the squad.
“What a player Jota is,” said Jones. “And all the lads as well who come off the bench and help, and the lads who start. We’ve got a great team and whether you start or not, you just know it’s all about the team.
“Jota has kind of had a run of games where he has not scored, but he works hard as well. That’s the trust we all have in him, that if he doesn’t score or doesn’t assist we know he will always run, he’ll always be there for the team and for a pass.
“He scored as well, that’s the important thing.”