'Why Simon deserves Golden Glove'

The Barclays Premier League state that Liverpool's Belgian stopper is currently level with Southampton's Fraser Forster with 13 top-flight shut-outs so far. With Forster ruled out for the rest of the season, Mignolet has four games left to try to pick up the accolade.

Lying below the pair on 11 clean sheets are Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois, Lukasz Fabianski of Swansea City, Manchester City's No.1 Joe Hart and Ben Foster of West Bromwich Albion. Manchester United's David De Gea has 10 clean sheets.

In an exclusive chat with the goalkeeping coach at Melwood, Achterberg spoke about the fantastic character of Mignolet and why it's important Liverpool end the season on a real high...

John, it's obviously been a difficult couple of weeks with results not going how we would have wanted. What kind of job have you and the other backroom team had on your hands to keep spirits up?

It's been a frustrating time because we have been trying to get into the top four and obviously the semi-final result. Games haven't been going our way and the thing now is to stay positive, keep working hard and try to improve.

The manager said he spoke to the players after the game on Tuesday night about their 'obligation' towards ensuring the end of the season doesn't fizzle out. How has that been received by the players in training since?

That's normal because the players know every game we need to try to win and we need to get the momentum back to what we had before. We need to bring the winning mentality back and we need to get back on track and win the next game.

Regardless of what happens in these final four matches, playing for Liverpool has certain demands and responsibilities, doesn't it?

If you play four games for Liverpool, you expect to win four games. That's the club we are playing for and that's what we need to strive for. We want to be winning and try to create that mentality in the players. Every game is important and Liverpool expect to win games.

What'll be the message to the players over these next few days in the lead-up to the QPR game?

We are there to win it, we need to play well and get our game going. We need to perform for all the supporters, for everyone at the club and also for pride in yourself. You want to finish as high as you can in the league and that means you have to perform and win games.

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As mentioned, results haven't gone as everyone would have liked recently but Simon Mignolet has continued to go from strength to strength - what do you put that down to?

It's a combination of things. When you come to a new club there's a different way of playing to what you are used to. He had to learn the way we were going to play, he had to learn about the size of the club and dealing with all the attention you get. He had to improve on things as a goalkeeper. We talk a lot about that, about his positioning and decision-making. That sometimes takes time and sometimes you need to have a bit of patience with it. Simon is a positive person and every time he is very keen and he is always ready and keen to improve.

Simon's turnaround in form is typified by the fact he leads the way in the race for the Golden Glove. Just how deserved would that award be?

He would deserve it. I think the whole team have had a part to play in it. Simon obviously has a big part to play in it and he has made some vital saves to keep the team in the game at times. We have been better organised behind the ball whenever we have played three centre-backs with two midfielders in front, or a back four with two midfielders in front of that. It has been a bit more solid for our defensive shape and we have conceded less chances than last season, and that all has a factor in it. We don't score as many goals as we did last year so we have to be a bit more organised in the defensive side. The other thing for Simon to keep clean sheets is it's a mental thing in how you prepare for that. You can see in his game he is taking charge more, he is more dominant and then you get clean sheets by being on your front foot, ahead of the game and clear the danger before it can become danger. He has put all that into his game.

Did you set a target for clean sheets at the start of the season, or do you prefer to go on a game-by-game basis?

You always have in your own mind at the start of the season a target. You want it to be better than the season before so you always need to strive to get over 15 really. This year we are on our way, but the last few years we haven't done that. We have played more attacking football and sometimes that makes it harder to keep clean sheets.

Is confidence even more important for goalkeepers than say strikers or midfielders, because one mistake can lead to conceding a goal?

If you make a mistake it's basically a mental thing on how you deal with it. Nobody is going to be perfect and all goalkeepers make mistakes. What you want is to make as few mistakes as possible.

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How proud does it make you when you look at what Simon's achieved this season in terms of his personal performance?

Your job is to try to prepare him the best you possibly can. For me, it's good to see how well he is playing. I have a structure of the way we work and if you talk with the goalkeeper about a lot of tactical and positional play and you work on that in training, it's good when it comes off. It's good for the goalkeeper and it's good for the club because if the goalkeeper plays well then you have a good chance of winning the game. That's the same for any player in the team. If the striker plays well he can win you the game, it's the whole team together.

What about Simon's personality? Has his maturity played a part in him turning his season around?

We talk a lot about what he could do better in terms of aggression in the game, organising, talking to players, giving players individual instructions. He helps the team already organise before anything happens and that aggression he has taken on board. You see him organising when we defend corners and trying to get the players to respond and make sure they are in the right place. If you can get the players more switched on that helps your team as well. He has improved a lot. We watch videos and talk to each other about things and it's a team within a team, if you like, to get the best results.

How much has the backing of the supporters helped him as well?

Liverpool have always had great goalkeepers over the years. There's a special way of playing for Liverpool and that's what you try to keep improving on. A goalkeeper can do everything, he needs to be able to play with his feet, he needs to be able to make saves, he needs to be dominant and come for crosses. If you look at that, there's not a lot of goalkeepers in the world that have all those facilities, and hopefully Simon is on the right way to being one of them.

How vital has Brad Jones' support to Simon been this season?

Simon and Brad get on well together. Brad works hard in training every day on the same things that Simon does. Brad has been here for quite a few years now and he has improved a lot since he first came through the door. Again, you talk a lot with him and show him things and discuss things, and sometimes Brad doesn't always get [the credit] he deserves. Because he doesn't play that means he is not in the picture. That doesn't mean he hasn't got a good level, I think he has done a good job over the years and helped the other goalkeepers as well.