JONJO SHELVEY insists he won’t curb his competitive streak as he looks to scale the heights at Goodison Park tomorrow after a ‘rollercoaster’ start to the season.

The young Liverpool midfielder, who is hoping to get the nod ahead of Nuri Sahin for the spot alongside Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen, wants to add another chapter to an eventful campaign.

Fuelled by the belief manager Brendan Rodgers has shown in him, Shelvey’s development has been swift this term.

The highs of a match-winning display in Europe and a full England debut have been sandwiched by the bitter disappointment of last month’s red card against Manchester United.

“For me personally, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster so far,” said Shelvey. “Three days after scoring twice against Young Boys I got sent off against United so it has been up and down but there have been more positives than negatives.

“When I was away in the summer on holiday and found out we had a new manager I wondered where I stood. But he has come in and given a lot of the young lads a chance. He has been brilliant to work with.

“His pass and move style suits the way I play and I think the fans are loving him as well. Whenever a manager says he’s going to play you and you’re going to be a big part of the squad that gives you confidence.

“Players play off confidence. Look at Raheem (Sterling), he’s flying at the moment and so are Andre (Wisdom) and Suso.

“You always go out on the pitch thinking ‘I don’t want to let the manager down’, but even more so with Brendan. He has given me so many chances. He’s been first class and I want to keep repaying him.”

Tomorrow would be Shelvey’s first Premier League start since he was dismissed in last month’s defeat to Manchester United. His controversial red card for a strong challenge on Jonny Evans was followed by a heated touchline exchange with Alex Ferguson and a three-match ban.

The 20-year-old Londoner, who later apologised to the United boss, says he has learned from the experience. He knows emotions need to be kept in check – but if there’s a 50-50 tackle to be won against Everton, don’t expect to see Shelvey holding back.

“If the ball is there to be won you have to go in for it,” he said. “I’m sure there will be a few tackles flying in and it’s just the needless fouls you need to stay away from.

“Football seems to be becoming more of a non-contact sport.

“You have to be so careful what you do with your feet, but how can you pull out of a tackle if the ball is there to be won?

“I still stand by my decision against United to this day – I wasn’t going to pull out of that tackle in a game of that importance. If I had done I would have hurt myself and the fans would have gone mental.

“It’s gone now. It was a decision made by the referee and obviously it has taught me a lot.

“That walk felt like a mile.

“It is a learning curve and something that I will be more wary of in the future.

“I saw Ferguson in the fourth official’s ear so I said to him: ‘It’s your fault I got sent off’.

“But I apologised afterwards because I knew I was in the wrong.

“My dad has always brought me up to respect people, but if you have your opinion don’t be afraid to say it. I think that counts in all aspects of life. You have to fear no-one – except for your own manager!

“Some people have got that in them, some haven’t. If you look at the likes of Stevie and Carra, they were born with it.

“You want to be a winner. A lot of games can be won on who wants it the most. That’s what my dad tried to install in me.”

It’s that attitude which has enabled Shelvey to make such rapid progress. After spells in the youth ranks with Arsenal and West Ham, he joined Charlton and was handed his first team debut at the age of 16.

Since rejecting a move to Chelsea and signing for Liverpool for an initial fee of £1.7million in May 2010, he has had four different managers and clocked up 48 appearances.

Under Rodgers he has blossomed and being handed his England debut against San Marino at Wembley earlier this month provided a huge confidence boost.

“I could have played for Ireland or Scotland but my dad soon put a stop to that,” he said. “He told me I was going to play for England and now I have.

“I was a bit nervous when I joined up with the squad as I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve gone from playing in the park with my mates to sitting at dinner next to Wayne Rooney so it’s a bit weird. There’s another international next month so hopefully I’ll get called up for that.”

Shelvey knows for that to happen he needs to keep delivering at club level. Helping Liverpool win the 219th Merseyside derby tomorrow would be a great place to start.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it. If you think about things too much it can get on top of you and you start getting stressed,” he added.

“I came on as a sub in the derby at Anfield a couple of seasons ago but it will be a different type of atmosphere at Goodison.

“Everton are a good team with some great players but if we go there and perform like we can and do the things the gaffer has asked us to do then we will win. I know how much the fans want the bragging rights.”