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Steven Gerrard shares what Curtis Jones needs to do to become a Liverpool star
It’s fair to say that Steven Gerrard knows a good midfield player when he sees one.
Gerrard is arguably the best central midfielder to ever play in the Premier League, and after starring for Liverpool for almost 20 years, he’s very much qualified to have his say on the next crop of stars coming through at Anfield.
It’s been a while since Liverpool had a local lad bossing the midfield, but after his performance last weekend against Chelsea, many now believe it’s time for Curtis Jones to kick on.
Jones was excellent against Chelsea last week, and speaking on The Redmen TV, Gerrard has been full of praise for the young star.
Gerrard says that he’s been a big fan of Jones for a long time, and he offered the midfielder some advice to help him reach the next level.
Steven Gerrard’s advice for Curtis Jones
Gerrard spoke highly of Jones and told him what he has to do to reach the next level.
Gerrard says that Jones needs to find consistency and improve the mental side of his game if he wants to become a bona fide star at Liverpool.
“Yeah, I’ve been a huge fan of Curtis for a very long time. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to coach him and help him with a few things when he was a young player at the Academy. But I think now this needs to be Curtis’ time,” Jones said.
“I think he’s coming into the prime years from an age point of view. I think he’s got a real strong profile as a midfielder. He was always extremely fit and robust.
“So for me now, it’s about Curtis trying to find that consistent level week in, week out and really owning that shirt in the middle of the park because he’s certainly got the talents and the ability.
“It’s about the mental side of it now, being able to enjoy his performance against Chelsea, but park it up and reset and go to the next one. I think to stay in the Liverpool team and to perform at a real consistent high level, it’s about resetting yourself every couple of days.
“You’ve got to reset your mentality to perform at that level to keep the shirt because the performance against Chelsea, I believe, was as strong as the Liverpool shirt. It was a real high class performance.
“You know, running into the box, that’s the strength. He’s capable of scoring goals, more goals. He’s creative.
“He’s got all the strengths. So to really own one of the positions in that midfield and I hope he really finds that level of consistency because I know he’s got it.”
What Curtis Jones has said about Steven Gerrard
Gerrard’s advice to Jones certainly won’t fall on deaf ears here.
Indeed, Jones is very much open to any advice Gerrard gives him.
Gerrard was Jones’ coach at youth level for a brief period, and Jones actually credited Gerrard for helping him improve at a young age.
“A lot of people didn’t see the work both of us put in to push me on to get into the first team. Things weren’t always easy, but he was the perfect person at the perfect time to help me,” Jones said of Gerrard.
“He was the main coach who really told me what I had to work on. It was my all-round game, but also my all-round person. He knew the talent I had and put the fine details to me.”
Jones couldn’t ask for a better mentor than Gerrard, and while Stevie G isn’t on the training ground working with him every single day, he’s still got plenty of worthwhile advice to impart on the young midfielder.
Jones could be the next homegrown midfield star to make a real impact at Anfield.