InterviewHow the Merseyside derby makes Curtis Jones' competitiveness even stronger
Curtis Jones' already intense will to win heightens whenever the Merseyside derby comes around.
The 23-year-old is looking to make his fourth appearance in the fixture at senior level on Saturday lunchtime and, as a Scouser, knows just how much it means to the divided families and friendship groups all over the city.
The 245th edition of Liverpool facing Everton could be the last at Goodison Park, with Jones wanting to crown the occasion with victory and a complete team performance.
He told Liverpoolfc.com: "First things first, I just want to win. I'm a lad who hates to lose, I just want to win any game – in training I want to win, a small game with friends I want to win. And now I'm in a sport where it's important that you've got to win as well.
"[If] you win, there's happiness, there's trophies and stuff, [it] makes fans smile. But this game is one where you've got friends who are Everton fans, you've got family and stuff. It's always seen as a battle of the city.
"I always want to win. It's a huge game. I'm not going to think about that it's the last one there and things like that – it's with them and their fans and their history there. It doesn't really affect me.
"But any time that I play a game, I always want to win – and especially around these, I want to win even more. I'd like to come away with three points and a good game."
It's a quick turnaround into this encounter for Arne Slot's men following Wednesday night's 3-3 draw at Newcastle United, where Jones admits the Reds were far from their best over the course of 90 minutes.
The No.17 welcomes the opportunity to produce a much better display so soon after that trip to St. James' Park.
"That's the good thing – we're playing game after game," he insisted. "So you know, if you play a game where you didn't think it was a perfect game or you didn't play well – as I said already, I didn't think the first half [at Newcastle] was great – then there's a game now that as soon as the whistle goes we come out and be flying.
"We can go and press, we can just change the whole of the game and our mindframe as well.
"It's an important thing as well but at the same time I just want to go back to if we don't start the game well [then] the most important thing is that we've come away and won the game."
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Watch on YouTubeJones racked up his 150th appearance for his boyhood club in midweek, marking it with a well-taken goal early in the second half.
His lung-busting run from deep was rewarded when found by Mohamed Salah inside the box and he then applied a first-time finish past Nick Pope to draw the visitors level.
It was his second strike of the 2024-25 season and further end product is an ongoing target for the Academy graduate.
"I've always been a lad who wants to score goals, assist and help the team," Jones said. "Then you come around the first team and understand how hard it is to actually score.
"I've always had the thing in my head, 'I need to get in the box more, I need to score more goals, I need to assist more, I need to help the whole team.'
"I've played 150 games – it's a lot of games. I'm not a kid anymore, I'm experienced and I think if I want to take the next step again now I have to start scoring more goals and becoming a big part of the team. That comes down to goals and assists."
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.