Arne Slot has urged Curtis Jones to prove he can regularly shine at right-back.
The Liverpool midfielder thrived during Wednesday’s win over Everton with all three established options in the defensive position sidelined through injury.
Jones was called upon to fill the void as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez all remain sidelined for the Premier League leaders.
But Slot has now challenged the 24-year-old to further demonstrate his versatility ahead of a potential repeat during Sunday’s trip to Fulham.
He said: “It’s nice to have versatile players and Curtis is definitely one of them.
“He has a skill set that he can defend, he can attack and that’s why he can play in so many positions.
“He [also] has this mentality 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 Doucoure after the away game but he likes those challenges as well.
“Now it’s up to him 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.
“That is now, if I play him again, what he has to show on Sunday.”