Jones: We have to move on
Brad Jones acknowledged Liverpool's disappointment at their Capital One Cup exit to Swansea City on Wednesday night – but called on his teammates to put the result behind them as quickly as possible.
The Reds' defence of the trophy came to an end as the Swans recorded a 3-1 victory at Anfield thanks to goals from Chico Flores, Nathan Dyer and Jonathan De Guzman, rendering Luis Suarez's header a consolation.
"We are disappointed as we wanted to progress," said Jones. "The feeling we got last season with going to Wembley and lifting the trophy was a fantastic day. It was something we wanted to replicate.
"But on the night it took us 45 minutes to get going. By then it was too late.
"Now we have to move on and ensure our league form continues on a higher level."
With Liverpool trailing 1-0 at half-time, Brendan Rodgers opted to introduce Steven Gerrard and Suarez into the action.
Jones revealed the manager had strong words for his players during the break.
He added: "The manager had a go at us at half-time and sent Luis and Steven on. We got a kick up the backside and he let everyone know that we needed to get moving.
"Luis and Steven coming on gave us a spark.
"Maybe we were a bit naive early in the second half, pushing on too much too early. That gave them the chance to score their second.
"For the third one, everyone had pushed on and it was late in the game. That was irrelevant but the second goal was really disappointing.
"We had enough time and we were creating enough chances. We didn't need to go that gung-ho trying to get the equaliser."
Jones was named as the Liverpoolfc.com man of the match for his performance, with the custodian producing several fine saves to thwart Swansea on the evening.
It was the Australian's fourth consecutive appearance in the first team, and he's hopeful he's staked his claim to don the gloves on a more regular basis.
"Everyone wants to play," Jones said. "When I came to Liverpool I knew Pepe had an unbelievable record. He's a difficult guy to get out of the way. We have a good, friendly rivalry, along with Peter Gulacsi as well.
"For me this run of games has been a good opportunity to play and show I can perform if needed in the first team.
"Then it's down to the manager to what he sees fit. It's a case of all of us putting pressure on each other.
"I've been fairly happy with how things have gone. I haven't had masses to do but I feel that what I have done has been fairly steady."