Rob Jones Interview

[Franny DelMucho]

EXCLUSIVE: ROB JONES ON UNITED V LIVERPOOL Former Liverpool and England right-back Rob Jones is hoping a fit-again Steven Gerrard can inspire the Reds to victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Having made his debut at the home of the Red Devils in 1991 after a move from Crewe Alexandra, Jones knows all about the pressure surrounding this fixture and stresses that Gerrard will need his team-mates to share the load. He said: “Liverpool getting a result doesn't rest on his shoulders entirely but they definitely stand a far better chance of getting something at Old Trafford with him in the side. If he can get hold of the game and control it, Liverpool are in with a shout. "He's the centrepiece but let's not forget that there are players around him who can take control as well. There are plenty of experienced heads like Jamie Carragher, for example, and they'll need to be at their best.” Much is made of what this fixture means to the fans but Jones admitted it also has a special significance for the players. He said: “There's no doubt that when the fixtures come out at the start of the season, it's one of the first games you look for. “For the first time in a few years, everyone is fit and both sides have really strong squads to choose from so I think it will be a really good game. “I would expect both teams to really go at each other because even though it's at Old Trafford, the Liverpool lads will be really up for it, if not more up for it, as I found that at Old Trafford, where the crowd are against you, it spurs you on. “It should be a cracker, and strangely enough these games are a lot more fun to watch than to play in.” Jones' own experience of the fixture is unique. Just days after being signed by Graeme Souness he was pitted against the latest product of Old Trafford's youth system at the Theatre of Dreams. Not the easiest of introductions when you consider that the hotly-tipped youngster was a certain Ryan Giggs. His debut still holds fond memories for Jones and he said: “Obviously coming up from the Fourth Division to play in Division One as it was then, I was very nervous but excited as well. I thought of it as an opportunity I should take and I thought I did OK in the game.” Alongside the Merseyside derby, the United fixture is always eagerly anticipated by the Anfield club's fans. Jones added: “I think they are on a par. There is a lot of tension between the fans of Liverpool and United, but Liverpool and Everton fans are not always the best of friends as some people would have you believe! “On the pitch, even though the players know how much it means to the fans, there is a lot of experience in both teams and they know the importance of keeping a calm head.” With Liverpool currently eight points behind United after just eight games of the season, Jones knows the importance of victory for Rafael Benitez's side in this weekend's fixture. Jones said: “We can't write them off already but if Liverpool are going to win the Premier League, realistically they have to start well and maintain that level. "These days, with Chelsea, you can't start off eight, nine, 10 points behind and then expect to catch them up because they hardly slip up.”

An interesting read if you've been staring at walls all night