Arne Slot insists he had been thinking of it for quite some time but the plan to convert Curtis Jones into an emergency right-back really kicked into overdrive when Liverpool returned to training on Saturday.
After nearly a fortnight off after that disappointing Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle United at Wembley, Slot and his players reconvened at the AXA Training Centre on March 29 to begin preparations for the Merseyside derby against Everton.
A meeting with the players was held on Monday ahead of Wednesday's derby, with Slot keen to relay the message that his squad cannot be 'outworked' again like they were at Wembley to a Magpies side who were desperate to end a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.
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Accusations of wanting it less than Newcastle stung the players but there can be little doubt it was Eddie Howe's squad who were more emboldened by the weight of history on their shoulders than Liverpool's, virtually of whom had been at Wembley 13 months earlier to enjoy a 10th League Cup success.
“The message is as simple as it has always been," Slot said about his Monday meeting. "Just don’t accept you are outworked by a team, which we were, against Newcastle." By that point, it was already becoming apparent that Jones would be asked to deputise for his fellow Scouser Trent Alexander-Arnold in the full-back spot as he continues to convalesce after that ankle injury against Paris Saint-Germain on March 11.
Prior to the 1-0 win, Jones had previously played at right-back once before for the Reds, in one of the early rounds of the Carabao Cup at home to Leicester, at a time when Jurgen Klopp was demanding his full-backs shift into midfield when in possession.
The move to select Jones on the right side of the back four was not an entirely revolutionary approach from Slot, but the boldness of it - in a pivotal derby game - showed the trust and faith the Dutchman has in a player whose versatility has grown as much as his reputation this term.
"It is not something that came up last week," Slot said of the decision to use Jones in the unfamiliar role. "It is something we thought about for a bit longer, first half of the season there were already moments when we talked about it with him.
"I thought he was able to do this in games or in moments. But there were three full-backs injured in Trent, Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez, so then it is a choice of playing a centre-back over there and Jarell did quite well over there I have to say and he would have helped us with set-pieces.
"But I felt and we felt that to have a chance to win the game we had to play better with the ball than in the away game. So it was a risk to play a midfielder there maybe, but I thought he could help with the creativity in this position. Because that is what you lack when Trent is not there, of course.
"He did very well defensively also, strong performance from him, like the whole team and it is nice to have another option in that position because three of them are injured."
The idea to utilise Jones over Jarell Quansah, a more natural defender, was done so with the aim of having more of the ball and while the city-centre-born midfielder did not quite pull the strings in the manner of his fellow Liverpudlian Alexander-Arnold, his assuredness in possession was a big reason the Reds were able to eventually turn the screw against David Moyes's side on the night.
Having also been deployed as a deep-lying midfielder, a creative playmaker and a makeshift centre-forward at times under Slot, Jones has become Liverpool's Swiss Army knife, the Jack of all trades who can do whatever is called for at that specific time. Players with such reputations are often damned with faint praise but Jones has played himself into the England reckoning under Slot's guidance this season.
"Curtis was excellent," says Andy Robertson. "He played a really good game, he is such an intelligent footballer. We were joking yesterday — he has played left wing, as a No 10, a striker, a No 6, a No 8 and a right back. It shows how intelligent he is, he took the game in his stride. So comfortable on the ball and defended well too."
Virgil van Dijk added: “We worked on [the tactic] from Saturday. The manager mentioned it before the break that it could be an option. We knew Everton would play with Doucoure and Beto high up and the wingers would drop quite low so that's why you could play with Curtis there. He did a very good job considering he hadn't played there. Keep going onto the next."
At a time when the reserves at right-back have run dry with the injuries to Alexander-Arnold, Bradley and Gomez, Jones has offered Slot a viable, contrasting alternative to what centre-half Quansah can do in the role.
It was interesting to note Slot talking about Jones being happy to be challenged as a Liverpool player. One of the Academy graduate's most outstanding performances of the campaign came in October's 2-1 win over Chelsea, where he won a penalty, scored of the decisive second and made two hugely important blocks to deny an in-form Cole Palmer.
That particular performance from Jones, Slot hinted on Thursday, was born from a desire to prove that it was him and not Chelsea star Palmer who was, to quote how the Reds boss put it, "the best English midfielder under 21 or something like this". Jones might be 24 now, but the general point stood. You think Palmer is better? I'll show you.
"He has a skill set that he can defend, he can attack and that’s why he can play in so many positions. And he has this mentality [that] if you give him a challenge, he likes to be challenged and yesterday was a challenge for him because it wasn’t his normal position.
"Some players hate a challenge, they like to stay in their comfort zone, but Curtis is the type of player that wants to be challenged if you challenge him.
"If you tell him he is playing against the best English midfielder under 21 or something like this, and I want to see how you do against that, then he is up for the challenge. I didn’t ask him to stand up against [Abdoulaye] Doucoure after the away game but he likes those challenges as well!
"So, good to have him. Now it’s up to him [so] if I play him again on Sunday that it’s not, ‘One time show yourself,’ because consistency is the thing what brings you from good to great and that is now, if I play him again, what he has to show on Sunday."
Liverpool fans proudly boast about the 'Scouser in the team' at right-back in the form of Alexander-Arnold, but it could very well be Jones's position now. For the coming weeks at least.
