Liverpool’s season so far warrants the sportswriter’s hoariest cliche. More than one game, perhaps, but two contrasting halves. There was the period leading up to the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, when the Champions League came and went, Brendan Rodgers’ summer signings were criticised and the manager himself was under pressure through poor results, and then there has been the sustained recovery since. Liverpool have not lost in the league since visiting Old Trafford in December, they have picked up 33 points from a possible 39, kept six consecutive clean sheets away from home and victory over their north-west rivals on Sunday afternoon would see them enter the top four at United’s expense.
Simon Mignolet even had his own interval between the first half and the second. When Liverpool lost in Manchester it was Brad Jones in goal, the Belgian having been dropped for what Rodgers termed an indefinite period. As it turned out, he was back a couple of weeks later when Jones injured himself during a game at Burnley, and this time there was no uncertainty or hesitation behind the defence. Mignolet and Liverpool have never looked back since.
“I don’t think it is anything to do with me personally,” the 27-year-old says modestly. “You score goals as a team and you concede them as a team. You are all together as one unit, and since the gaffer changed the system after the United game we have all been very organised.
“Everybody is willing to work for each other and we haven’t been giving opponents many opportunities to score. There have been games where we have played really well, and then wins like the one at Swansea last week when we had to grind it out. We can do both, but not giving many chances away is key.”
Adam Lallana admitted on Friday that Liverpool’s collective confidence was low when they went to Old Trafford, but Mignolet’s must have been on the floor after being taken out of the team. “I tried not to let myself get too disappointed,” he says. “On the positive side, it gave me a chance to reflect on my game, analyse my performances a little more carefully.
“When you are playing twice a week there is not always time to do that, you are usually either recovering from one game or preparing for the next. Obviously I was disappointed, but I knew it was important to make sure I came back stronger. The moment the gaffer took me into his office the day before the United game to tell me I wasn’t playing I told myself I could do two things: let my head drop or be positive, try to ensure my period on the sidelines was as short as possible.
“The opportunity at Burnley came sooner than I expected, but I was ready for it. You have to be when you are part of the team in the dressing room; even if you are not playing you must be prepared for anything. I managed to get on at Burnley, kept a clean sheet and since then I can’t be too disappointed with how I have been performing.”
It can be a lonely life, being an all-too-visible last line of defence, though Mignolet acknowledges a support network that includes his fiancee and what he calls the goalkeepers’ union. The latter might not include Bruce Grobbelaar, who complained in November that Dracula was better at dealing with crosses, but Mignolet has stayed in touch with a variety of goalkeeping coaches and ex-pros.
“There are always people you can turn to for help and advice,” he says. “Former coaches, people I used to play with in Belgium and in England. It is good to have people you can look to for support, but in the end you are out on the pitch on your own and you have to come through it for yourself.
“I didn’t take any of the criticism personally because I am my own biggest critic. I always try to look back and see what I could have done better. There are some things you can work on and others that you just have to leave alone and move on. As a goalkeeper, you quickly realise you will only be remembered for your last game. I played a half-decent game at Swansea, for instance, but I know if things turn around against United people will stop mentioning it.”
Making mistakes or suffering a crisis of confidence in front of 45,000 spectators cannot be easy, yet Mignolet finds he is able to relax in a game setting. “This is what I signed up for,” he says. “Playing in front of a crowd is something you learn. You accept it and then you start to relish it. When I was younger I would play in front of crowds as small as 500 in the second division in Belgium, so I know what that’s like. It might be easier in terms of pressure, but believe me, I would always prefer to be at a packed Anfield playing against Manchester United. That’s why you want to become a footballer.”
Mignolet is fully aware of the significance of Sunday’s game, its relevance to the scramble for top-four positions and its place in a long-running rivalry, but is wary of attaching too much importance to a single result, however crowd-pleasing. “There will be other big games after this one,” he says.
“The manager has given us a points target [74 by the end of the season] and that is what we are working towards. It doesn’t really matter where the points come from. Our challenge is to get into the top four, and to do that we need to keep our own form going, not worry too much about opponents.
“United will be a big game but there are bound to be others because all the big teams are fighting to be in the Champions League. That’s pressure, if you like, but it is better to see it as an opportunity. Don’t forget we still have the FA Cup and we want to get to the final. That’s another opportunity. It could be another exciting end to the season. We have put ourselves in position and now we must make sure we get the wins we need.”
