Interview'Hungrier than ever' – Harvey Elliott eyes first start of the season at Southampton

The midfielder has been named in every matchday squad since the November international break after recovering from a foot injury he sustained in early September.

And, after coming off the bench for late cameos in the Reds’ last two matches – the win over Girona and draw with Fulham – he is now eyeing a return to the line-up at St Mary’s on Wednesday night.

“Absolutely. Yeah, I do,” Elliott replied, when asked by Liverpoolfc.com if he feels ready to start against Saints.

“I feel fit, I feel 100 per cent, it’s just taking a bit of time – as it does after every injury. I wasn’t really quite there as much as I thought in my head that I was and the coaching staff and the manager could see that, and I think it was a mature decision to keep me part of it but not throw me in as quick as possible and I feel like it’s helped me now.

“It’s built me up and I am hungrier than ever to get back out on the pitch and to help my team, to help the club, and I feel like now I am in a position where I feel 100 per cent again and now I’m just raring to go.”

Read the rest of our last-eight preview with the No.19 below.

You spoke to us immediately after the Fulham game but you’ve now had a few days to reflect on it now, so how do you look back on it?

Still the same, really. But it’s one of them where we can’t dwell on it too much and think about it because, especially in this period, there’s another game coming up and our focus has switched to that now. Whatever happened at the weekend, you can’t change it, it is what it is. We just need to maybe take our frustrations into this next game and put in hopefully a more positive performance and get the win.

It’s not the result you would have wanted before the game, but can the manner in which you earned the point in the end galvanise you as a group?

Absolutely. Football is a tough game as it is, but especially when you go a man down it’s just that extra hurdle in a way and I felt like the team dug really deep and showed a determination, the hunger and desire, to come back twice and to get a point. As I said before, a point is better than losing. It’s not really what we wanted but we just have to take it and move on. There are games coming up thick and fast and we need to forget about it and keep pushing.

You came off the bench again on Saturday and feel 100 per cent fit after your injury. But general fitness is quite different to match fitness, isn’t it? Is it now a case now of you needing match minutes to build your sharpness back up?

Absolutely, yeah. It’s a completely different [type of] fitness. Nothing can compare to match fitness and I feel like that’s what I need and I’m sure I’ll get it. It’s just about me working as hard as I can now in training and proving to them that I am ready. I’m just waiting for my opportunity now.

You had such a positive impact in pre-season and then the injury happened, so do you feel desperate to make up for lost time?

I wouldn’t say ‘desperate’ because I feel like that’s when you’ll start going off the rails a little bit. I feel like it’s just for me to go out and just enjoy my football again. I don’t want to put pressure on myself because last season and the seasons before when I was playing a fair amount I never did that, so for me to do that now because I’ve been out for a long time would be wrong.

I just want to go out, enjoy putting on the kit again, walking out and hopefully putting in a good performance. We are there to win and that’s the priority really: it’s not about me, it’s about the team and however I can help I’m going to do so. The most important thing, as I’ve said, is making sure we try to win.

It feels like a long time ago now but your senior debut for Liverpool came in this competition. With injuries, suspensions and possible rotation we might see some Academy players in the squad – do you like to take on a role as one of the senior players and how do you look to support them?

Absolutely, it’s a role that I enjoy taking up because I have been in their shoes before, I know how they feel. I know [that] on the outside they might look like they’re fine but inside it might be different, especially the younger lads. It’s like when I first joined, I was a bit scared to ask questions because I didn’t want to seem like I was irritating anyone. So, I feel like for me it’s an opportunity now where I want to be known to them that I am here if they need me or any of the other players.

There’s a few younger players as well, like Jarell [Quansah] and Curt [Jones], who are taking up the same role. But at the same time, we are a team. They train with us, they play with us, they are involved because they’re good enough – it’s just as simple as that and we want them to do really well at this football club and we want them to fulfil their dreams as well. If we can help them along the way then we’re going to be there for them and at the same time we’re going to need them so hopefully they can get their opportunities. They deserve to.

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You won 3-2 at St Mary’s a few weeks ago but there’s been a big change there in the last few days with manager Russell Martin departing. Does that make your preparations more difficult in terms of not quite knowing what to expect?

I don’t think so. I think we just go out and do what we do, really. Our game plan is our game plan and that’s about it. It’s going to be a bit different in terms of the atmosphere, the players may feel a different way now and we expect them to come out fighting – that’s just how it is in football. But I don’t feel like we can change how we approach the game, we just need to make sure that we’re focused, we’re ready to do what we have worked on and planned and hopefully it’s a positive end to the game and we can come away with the win. But it’s going to be difficult, every game is, and we need to make sure we are [at] 100 per cent.

Finally, you have already won this trophy twice and last season’s final was such a special day for the club. You’re only two rounds away from another trip to Wembley – does that give you that extra little bit of motivation?

Yeah, absolutely, but I feel like we just have to take it game by game. We can’t think too far ahead because Southampton are tough opposition – they caused us problems in the last game and we expect the same problems again. It’s just about making sure we go there and put in a positive performance and then take each game as it comes.

But for us, the experiences that we experienced last season, we always want them. It’s a massive club and we are kind of expected to win every trophy. As much as we can we are just going to keep pushing for it, keep taking it game by game because we’re in other difficult competitions as well. So, hopefully we can experience that again but who knows. Tomorrow is another important game.

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