PreviewInterview: How Jarell Quansah has been training and preparing like a starter

Due to the terrific form of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, Quansah has been limited to just a pair of appearances so far this season, but has been training and preparing for games like a regular starter.

His most recent outing came in the Carabao Cup win over West Ham United last month, and the 21-year-old is hoping to feature in the competition again when the Reds travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round on Wednesday.

Quansah previewed that Amex Stadium tie by speaking to Liverpoolfc.com at the AXA Training Centre – read on for the interview…

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You've certainly not had the easiest of draws in both rounds of this competition, but I suppose you want to test yourselves against good opposition…

It's never about having an easy run to certain trophies. I think it's good for building momentum if you play tough teams, and obviously that's what we've got against Brighton, especially away from home, it always poses a threat. It'll be good to test ourselves.

You got a start in the last round against West Ham. If selected again, are you viewing this game as another opportunity to impress the boss and his coaching staff?

It's always been the same for me. I think it was the same last season as well, I was in a similar position. Obviously it's a good way to show how good you are and show him what you're capable of. It's just building minutes again and building more and more experience for the future.

You've had to remain patient for your opportunities. Tell us about the hard work you've been putting in…

People probably don't see it. It's really tough mentally when you're not playing and obviously physically you've got to sort of train [like] how many metres you'd run in games and stuff like this. It's really physically demanding and the amount of gym work you do, it's really tough. But it's all about staying ready and you never know when your opportunity will come. It's just staying ready for anything.

How do you keep the mindset of always being ready without getting disheartened?

You've just got to look in front of you and say you've got two of the best centre-backs in the world ahead of you. It's a joy watching them play, to be honest. But as long as I can try to push them as far as they can go, and they're always pushing me to try to be a better player, it'll breed a good environment around the squad.

As much as you'd like to be involved, you must be impressed by the form of Van Dijk and Konate…

The way both of them have marshalled the back line and done so well, it's always good to see. I'm not really a jealous person, it just shows me what I need to do to get there. I'm always learning off them, even if I'm on the bench just watching them play, watching them train, just seeing what I can take from their game really. Hopefully I can be in a position to really fight for the spot.

What kind of things have you seen from them that you're looking to put into your own game?

I could probably name a million things, to be honest. I think Virg is probably the most complete centre-half we've had in this modern era of centre-backs. And Ibou, the way he's defending at the minute, his game has been well-rounded and really good. So I can just take everything from them. Obviously they've got experience as well, and I think that's the most valuable thing, having the experience and the little tactical know-hows of certain strikers and the game. It's always good to pick up on.

With the quality Brighton carry, you know you'll have to be right on it when you go there…

We're always prepared for every game we play. We go to attack every game and want to win it. I've played against Brighton before and they play really good footy. It'll be a tough game regardless. They've got a lot of great football players and have shown this season that they can really rip teams apart. It's always tough. They have really bright players up front and great attacking talent. We'll have to be on our game to keep them quiet.

How hungry are you to defend this trophy? You've got one winner's medal from that memorable afternoon at Wembley and now you'll want two…

We go for every trophy – it was the same last season. Although we fell short, it gives us even more fire in our bellies to keep going and keep pushing. The Carabao Cup is the first one we can win, so I think that'll be the ideal start for us.

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