Simon Mignolet: “I Want To Play”

It was never going to be Simon Mignolet. The 28-year old Belgian was always going to be the man behind the man between the goal posts. When Jürgen Klopp made the move for Loris Karius in the summer transfer window, it was a move towards a keeper who would displace Mignolet. Karius’ injury seems to be the only reason Karius didn’t start the first game of the season. The hand is fairly necessary in these goalkeeper situations, you know?

So, the matches went to Mignolet and he did well. He was Mignolet, a great shot stopper you really favor in a one-on-one scenarios, but lacking strong distribution and iffy on commanding the chaos that ensues within his box. But, he did well. And now that he’s lost his place, officially, to the young German keeper, Simon is understandably upset but also handling the transition decently. I wanted that to sound more positive.

Mignolet was given the top job in goal on Tuesday against Tottenham in the EFL Cup and, you know what? He did pretty well. He was so Mignolet, it was perfect. And, again, I’m genuinely trying to be positive. But, in order for Mignolet to arise again to the throne, Karius would surely have to start doing some insanely foolish things out on the football pitch. Just bonkers things. And it’s not happening. So, it’s tough to be Simon Mignolet right now. It’s tough to lose out. But, he’s a fighter. And Simon is letting everyone know that he believes he can win this fight.

“I don’t want to be a number two, that’s clear. I want to play. I will keep fighting to get my place back.

“I will never give up fighting, firstly, because that’s not in my character to just give up. Secondly, because I am not in a situation where I can sit on the bench. I’m 28 years old and I want to play week in week out.

“So, I’ll work hard and I’ll never give up. Giving up is not what I want to do. I see it as a challenge that I can overcome. Hopefully, it will be a fair challenge based on performances put in on the pitch.”

Mignolet is a savvy dude and appears to be very driven in his pursuit of success. His move from Sunderland to Liverpool was a big boon to his career, number one keeper at the biggest football club in the world. It’s given him a solid reputation. He’s well liked, but he hasn’t been the answer we’ve been looking for. He has also remained behind Thibous Courtois for years in the Belgian squad. And, now, he’s been dropped by none other than Jürgen Klopp. Believe me, Simon will be wanting to change these situations very quickly.

“The only thing I can then do is to play my best, work hard and keep my head down like I’ve always been doing.

“Then in the end you can’t complain that you have, how you say, let yourself down. I want to keep my head up and be professional.

“Hopefully, I can get my chance again to show what I can do. I don’t want that to take long.

Mignolet absolutely gets his pick of some solid number one spots when he decides to leave Liverpool. He’s very good at his job. Football is his career and his passion. What he’s really fighting for is his name and reputation. And you just got to respect that.