He may have been dropped for a brief period of time in favour of understudy Brad Jones, but Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes that under-fire ‘keeper Simon Mignolet has come out of his enforced absence looking better than ever.
Although rumours continue to swirl regarding the Belgian’s future at Anfield, the 26-year old has benefited greatly from the new-found defensive stability the Northern Irishman’s tactical tweaks have brought, keeping three clean sheets in his last five league outings. “Simon’s shown the benefits of having a bit of time out of the side,” said the Reds manager in the build-up to Saturday’s meeting with West Ham United on Merseyside. “He looks like a different goalkeeper. It’s difficult when you are playing all the time as you don’t get the chance to reflect on your performance.”
Liverpool have been heavily linked with a number of different goalkeepers over the past few months with serious doubts regarding Mignolet’s ability to compete at the top level growing with every passing match. An early exit from the Champions League — on the back of a poor team showing all around and a few blunders from the Belgian — did nothing to dispel these thoughts, though he will get a chance to compete on the continent once again when the Reds kick off their Europa League campaign against Turkish side Besiktas in a few weeks time.
Jones, who is still on the treatment table after picking up a thigh injury during the tail end of December, could very well be called into action for those ties if Rodgers wants a second look at the Australian in action before deciding on his contract situation, but for the time being anyway, Mignolet remains his number one. “Simon’s spell out was for him to take a step back, analyse performances and the areas where he could improve” explained the Liverpool boss. “Since he’s come back into the team he’s shown why we brought him here. He’s a wonderful shot-stopper, he’s starting to be more aggressive with crosses and is probably thinking less. I’m delighted for him because he has worked very hard at his game.”
