JONJO SHELVEY is hoping his performance against Aston Villa on Sunday will earn him another chance to impress for Liverpool FC over Christmas. The 19-year-old midfielder admits he was shocked when manager Kenny Dalglish told him he would be making his first Liverpool FC Premier League start at Villa Park. However, Shelvey rose to the challenge in Liverpool FC's 2-0 win and relished his 83 minutes of action. “I only found out I was playing two hours before kick-off,” he said. “I was straight on the phone to my mum and dad – I was buzzing.
“I was surprised because I thought I would be on the bench. Obviously the team won last week and I didn’t think the manager would change it much. “But I was lucky to find myself playing and it was a chance for me. I feel like I sort of took it.
“The fact Kenny started with me gives me a lot of confidence. The more I can play the more I think I can show what I can do.”Shelvey was recently recalled from a prolific loan spell with Blackpool where he scored six goals in 10 appearances.
And Dalglish opted to play him at Villa Park in the kind of advanced attacking role where he enjoyed so much success with the Seasiders. The £1.7million signing from Charlton played just behind top scorer Luis Suarez and Shelvey believes he will benefit greatly from the experience. “I really enjoyed playing that role,” he said.
“There’s a big difference between playing there for Blackpool and playing there for Liverpool. “It was an absolute honour to play up there with Luis Suarez. He’s so clever and so sharp. “He makes it easy for me. His movement is so good.”