Curtis Jones has revealed how his change of heart around football helped him become a regular under Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Jones has been on the books of his boyhood club Liverpool since the age of nine, working his way up through the youth academy ranks before making his senior debut in January 2019 in an FA Cup tie with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After several seasons on the fringes of the first team, Jones has become a key player for Klopp in recent times, becoming a regular starter in the Reds’ new-look midfield.
Speaking to reporters ahead of this week’s Europa League clash with Ligue 1 side Toulouse, Jones detailed how he became a regular under Klopp and revealed he had to change his approach to the game to do so.
“As an academy kid, I was always a kid who jumped up the age groups,” he said. “Then I got into the first team and I felt like I hit a wall and couldn’t really take the next step.
Academy Test / Visionhaus/GettyImages
“So it was more just going over my game and seeing where the improvements were. I’ve always been a guy who just wanted to go and score goals and pick up the ball and run, you know. But it was at that point that I learned , ‘ok, that’s more the gaffer and the staff want.’
“Now the supporters are all saying how I go and press. I’ve never been a kid who thought about being the first to go and push or try to run as hard as possible, so I’ve added that to my game. I’m trying to work on just the overall package.
“I still have a lot to learn, but I’m getting there.”
The 22-year-old is likely to start the game against Toulouse, but will not feature against Nottingham Forest due to the three-match ban he received for receiving a straight red card in the controversial defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
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