Tuesday, 21st January, 2014
Liverpool defender Kolo Toure believes goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has the mental toughness to bounce back from conceding five goals in his side’s last two Premier League matches.
The Reds, who won 5-3 against Stoke City on 12th January, were held to a 2-2 draw by Aston Villa at the weekend.
mobile ad
Despite picking up four points from the two fixtures and maintaining their position in the top four, the Merseyside club’s defence has come in for criticism from some corners.
However Toure insists that Mignolet, whom he feels has a big role to play in the current campaign, should not be blamed alone, as the entire back four were at fault in the previous two matches.
relatedNewsStory
The centre-back hence wants his side to work on their defensive abilities in training, in view of putting in better performances in the club’s upcoming matches.
"Simon will get through it as he is really strong mentally. I told him that the life of defenders and goalkeepers is like this”, Toure was quoted as saying by his club’s official site.
"You can play 120 games without making a mistake and then make two in two games and it's like you have to start all over again.
"All 'keepers have sticky patches but he is a strong guy and he knows he has a big part to play in the season.
"It's not only Simon, everyone needs to react.
"The back four could have done better with everything. We know we have a strong defence as before we were keeping clean sheets.
“We will work on that in training and make sure we are better in the future."
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
