Simon Mignolet is determined to fight for his place at Liverpool after being displaced by Loris Karius as Jürgen Klopp’s first-choice goalkeeper.
The Belgium international started his first match for more than a month in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham after losing his place to Karius. Klopp confirmed this week that the Germany international – a £4.7m signing from Mainz in the summer – is now his No1 but Mignolet will never give up on reclaiming the status he has enjoyed since moving from Sunderland in 2013.
“I don’t want to be a No2, that’s clear. I want to play,” he said. “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. So hopefully it will be a fair challenge based on performances put in on the pitch.”
Asked whether he felt the cards were stacked against him given Klopp has publicly backed Karius, Mignolet said: “I don’t want to think about that. It’s not in my character.
“I will always support the team and the club. That’s why I am a Liverpool player and I am grateful for the support I get from the fans. It’s always nice to see and hear they are behind you.
“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. Because that’s the only thing I don’t want to do. I want to keep my head up and be professional.”
Mignolet was rarely troubled as Liverpool booked their place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup against an experimental Tottenham side, although he did well to foil a late chance for Shayon Harrison after a late penalty from Vincent Janssen had set up a nervy finish for the home side. Two goals from Daniel Sturridge ensured Spurs suffered their first domestic defeat of the season and Mignolet believes the performance shows Klopp now has real depth to his squad.
“Everyone did a really good job even though we have not played together in the new system,” said the former Sunderland goalkeeper.
“All the players adapted well and showed they are flexible to come in when needed and everyone showed they have got the quality to play for Liverpool.
“ We defended well, handled set pieces. It was a bit unfortunate to give the penalty away, although the referee did well overall.”