Simon Mignolet is displaying the kind of attitude every Liverpool player who loses his spot in Jurgen Klopp’s side should.
Since the Belgian, a seasoned international, lost his spot in the team early on this season, he’s not complained once – but vowed to keep his head down and impress when given an opportunity in the EFL Cup.
He’ll start this evening against Leeds United and is eager to progress through to the next round, where he’ll hope to appear in both legs of the semi-finals.
SEE MORE:
Liverpool’s U23 lineup last night shows which youngsters will play EFL Cup game v Leeds
For Mignolet though, the team is most important and not individual performance.
“You train every day to show the manager you are ready to play,” he told the Echo.
“If you get the chance, you want to show what you can do on the pitch.
“I’m really excited for this game. Hopefully we can go through to the next round. That’s the most important thing; my individual performance always comes second.
“We want to win a trophy. The League Cup is the first trophy we can win in the season. At Liverpool Football Club, you want to win trophies,” he continued.
“We have a chance, being already in the quarter-finals and with a lot of teams knocked out of this competition. We want to move on and progress to the semi-finals.
“We want to get through because after that would be the semi-final. We went to the final last season and this year we want to win it. It would be a major step. Let’s hope we can do the job.”
Unfortunately for Mignolet, once you lose your spot between the sticks, it’s very hard to get back. With Loris Karius improving every week, only an injury or suspension to the German will see the former Sunderland man get a chance in the Premier League.
Mignolet signed a five-year contract extension last season, but it may well be that this is his final full season at the club, as if his situation doesn’t improve, he’s unlikely to be content with a backup role long-term.