Q&ACurtis Jones interview: 'The buzz is back but we're not getting carried away'

The Reds travel to London for a 5.30pm GMT kick-off on the back of consecutive wins and clean sheets, with victories having been claimed over Internazionale and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.

Overall, the reigning Premier League champions are on a five-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and Jones told Liverpoolfc.com: “The confidence was always there, I wouldn’t say that it left.

“I say all the time that if I have a look around at the talent around me, you always have that buzz that you can’t wait to go and play with those lads.

“I would say that the past games show that the connection is there, that we’re starting to gel again as a team with how hard we are working, the goals we’re scoring.

“So, yeah, I feel that the buzz is around the place again but at the same time we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.

“I feel that it’s just [about taking] each game as it comes and I think that’s what we’ve done well – especially when we’ve had that little bit of a dip, it was just [about] taking the small steps. That was why we think it’s going wrong, then how we change it, then the teams that we picked and then we started to play well and now we are starting to win games.

“So now I don’t want to think that we’re fully back or that we’re going to win all the games, I just feel now it’s that we’re at the point where we’re playing well, the energy is there, the buzz is there, so let’s just go and win each game that we can but don’t think too far ahead.

“Just take each game [as it comes] but yeah, I feel it’s an exciting time again.”

Read the rest of our Tottenham preview with Jones below.

After a really intense period, you’ve had a full week in between last Saturday’s game and the visit to Tottenham. How has that been and do you feel refreshed and ready to go again?

Yeah, 100 per cent. It’s important that we had our week down. I’ve had a chance to have a look back on the games and on stuff we did well and stuff we need to make a change on, so it’ll be good to see how it comes out in this game.

You’ve started and finished the last three games and it was a really special day for you to make your 200th appearance against Brighton. How would you assess your own form and performances recently?

As long as I’m playing I’m always happy and it’s always hard if I’m in and out of the team and stuff. But I always knew that if I had a run of games and a chance like this that I could be a big, big part of the team. That’s always just been on me and that’s the mindframe that I’ve got, and the trust and belief of the gaffer and his staff around, they’re using me, and the trust of the lads in where they’re giving me the ball and that on the pitch is just helping me out even more. But at the same time it’s all about the team. If I’m in this team and doing well while the team is doing well, that’s a bonus.

But there’s obviously been times when I’m out of the team and the team is doing well and obviously I wish I was playing more games, but if the team wins then I’m happy. So, I’m happy that I’m part of the team and as I said with the trust of the gaffer and his staff, they are playing me in a role that I feel suits me and I think the little bit of a change [tactically] suits the team more, so it’s credit obviously to them and credit to the boys around who obviously are making the change as well.

On the change in the team’s shape recently, how have you found that and how has that changed what the coaches are asking from you?

I mean, at the end of the day, as everybody knows I just want the ball at my feet! As long as I’ve got a ball at my feet I’m happy. We’ve obviously made a change that everybody can see where the middle is overloaded with lads that are technically good, that can make the change, that are comfortable on the ball. Then you’ve got the likes of Flo [Wirtz] who can play in between the lines, who can score and create and things like that. But the connection I’m making now more with the likes of Ryan [Gravenberch] about how we can play – we are similar in a way that we are comfortable on the ball and we can drop, we can get on the ball and are not in a rush to get rid of it. We can calm the game down and I feel like for a long time, if you have a look at our games, a big thing about why we lost and we dropped points is because they were end to end and we didn’t really have control in the game.

I feel like that’s a strength of mine, that I can get on the ball, I can calm it down… and I feel like if we’re up a goal or two then it’s on me even more so to go and get the ball off the lads, calm it down and let the opposition think that they don’t have a way back into the game. The more I play and the fitter I get and the rhythm is there and the connections I build even more with the likes of Ryan, you’ll start to see us gel even more and play better as a whole I would say.

Finally, Tottenham have had an inconsistent first part of the season but it’s always a test going there. What kind of game are you expecting?

At the end of the day, it’s still a world-class team. It’s a team that plays in the Premier League and I don’t think there is any team in the Prem that you turn up to play and think we’ve got the points and we’re just going to have a laugh and a joke. So I don’t want to think about their form or anything like that, there have obviously been teams that are in a worse place than them that we’ve dropped points against. That’s just how the Premier League is but I can only speak on us and how well we’re doing and the connections that we’ve built in the team. It looks like the team are starting to gel and starting to click, so we’re going there with a positive mindframe and just to make sure that we outwork them, outrun them, and then when we’ve got the ball that we take care of that ourselves. The most important thing is that we find a way to win and that’s what we’ll go and try to do.

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