InterviewCurtis Jones: I'm fit, playing and smiling again - happy days

The No.17 came off the bench during the Reds’ 3-0 win over AFC Ajax, a result that sealed qualification from Champions League Group A, on Wednesday night – the third consecutive match in which he has featured.

And having missed nearly three months of the season due to an ‘unusual’ issue, Jones is delighted to be back in action.

“It was [frustrating] of course,” the midfielder told Liverpoolfc.com.

“It was a bone injury and if you get a bone injury it’s always from a bad tackle or something like that but it wasn’t, they [the medical team] said it was from a stress response.

“I don’t know what it was from, [maybe] a bad pitch or an overload of things. So, it was unusual but it’s fine now. I’m back, I’m playing, I’m happy and I’m smiling again, so happy days.

“Fitness-wise, I wouldn’t say I am 100 per cent yet but I’m definitely almost there.

“I was out for 10 weeks [and] I’ve done all my recovery stuff and fitness stuff but it’s never the same as a game so I’m just taking it each game at a time and then hopefully I’ll be back to 100 per cent soon.”

We sat down with Jones at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Leeds United and also discussed that game, the victory in Amsterdam, the key to rediscovering the consistency that has characterised Liverpool in recent years, and his aim to get more minutes before the World Cup.

Read the interview below.

It was a very good team performance against Ajax and you must be so pleased to be in the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare?

Yeah, 100 per cent. From the team’s point of view, it’s always a hard place to go. I’ve been there once [before], I know it’s hard of course. They’re a great team as well but the boys were there, they went out and won so there are positives all-round and then on a personal note as well, I came on for half an hour, I enjoyed myself. But yeah, we’re through so I look forward to the next round of course.

It was the perfect response after Nottingham Forest – that shows the character of this group doesn’t it? That you can bounce straight back in a massive game after what was a disappointing result at the weekend?

Yeah, of course. It’s part of the game as well; there will be games where you get beat when you should have won and then there are games like that where it’s a hard team to play against but you dominate the game and win. So, it’s part of the game but there were positives for the whole team.

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Is it now case of making sure you build on that performance against Leeds on Saturday?

Definitely. I wouldn’t say that we are off to a perfect start, it’s [been] up and down, but we’ve put things right [against Ajax] so it’s now about keeping the same way and building on that.

This Liverpool team has been incredibly consistent over the last few years but that’s something that has been missing so far this season – what’s the key to getting that back?

It’s on us I’d say. The manager and his staff can pick a team and the fans may say it’s a strong team or they might say, ‘He hasn’t played for a while and he’s come in so he can make the team weaker’, but at the end of the day it is on us. As I said, he picks his team so it’s down to us to go out there and perform. Of course, it depends on the type of game. If it’s a cup game he might tweak his team a bit, young kids come into the side and they know that they have a huge role to play because they are part of the team. Then if we are coming across a Champions League side or a Premier League side, then it’s on the ones that are classed as the ‘bigger’ players to take it upon themselves and show what they are capable of doing. And for players like myself that are coming in from being out for a while [and] seeing the team in, I wouldn’t call it a struggle but a bit of a dip, it’s to try to come in and help the team find their 100 per cent perfect form. So, we all have our roles and we’re definitely there for that.

There are five games to play before the World Cup so this would be great time to find that consistency again and put together a run of wins…

Yeah, of course. But then at the same time if we find the form and it’s win, win, win, win and then it’s a break, you’re like, ‘Come on!’ But as I said, we take each game as it comes and it would be good to find our run now and then we have our break. Lads will go away, rest and relax, and there will be lads who are hopefully trying to keep up their form for their countries as well.

Do you see this run of fixtures as an ideal opportunity for you to get back to full match sharpness by getting more minutes in the tank?

One hundred per cent. But if not, it’s not a thing I sulk about anymore. I know that I play a role in the team and when I’m back to my best I know that it will be a bigger role, but at the same time you have to give credit to the lads who are in the team now, who are doing well. I have to just wait and when the chance comes, I’ve got to take the chance and keep my shirt.

What kind of game are you expecting against Leeds? They are not in the best form but they might be looking at a trip to Anfield as a perfect chance to kick-start their season…

Well, if it was me I know how I would be there for the game. But for a team like them, from a personal point of view and my experience of when I’ve played against them, they always give you a very, very tough game – running, challenges, man-marking – so we are expecting that as well. Again, it’s down to us to take it upon ourselves to match them and give more, and hopefully come away with a win to keep our high hopes going and keep challenging.

Finally, it’s a Saturday night game at Anfield, which is quite unusual but should mean that the atmosphere is excellent. At a time when the fixture list is so busy could that give you the extra push you need?

Yeah, definitely. As everybody has seen for years now, we’re a team that has a bond with the fans, so if the game is a little bit flat the fans will start to sing. If there’s a challenge they will be up on their feet shouting and stuff so that gives us a boost. If we’re playing well they are singing our names and singing the songs… and if the game is a bit flat, it only takes a small chance and the fans are there again and they give us the boost. That brings the best out of us so it will be a good game and I’m looking forward to it, definitely.