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22nd September 2024
10:26am BST
Arne Slot had a lot of good things to say about his Irish goalkeeper after his impressive display against Bournemouth at Anfield yesterday.
Kelleher made his first start of the season in the absence of the injured Alisson Becker and marked it with a clean sheet as a Luis Diaz double and a stunning Darwin Nunez strike saw the Merseysiders ease to victory over the Cherries.
"We were aggressive without the ball and showed quality with the ball"
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 21, 2024
Arne Slot gives credit to Bournemouth when speaking to @zmansour75 whilst also praising his own players, from Kelleher to Diaz and Nunez!#beINPL #LFC #AFCB pic.twitter.com/VsdUlYg4jG
Earlier this month, the Bishopstown native expressed his frustration at not getting enough game time with his club.
Speaking to the press while on international duty with Republic of Ireland, he said: "I made it clear in the last few years I want to go be a number one and play week in, week out.
"The club made the decision to get another goalkeeper,” he added. “From the outside looking in, looks like they have made a decision to go in another direction.
"It has been reported that Liverpool had rejected a few bids as well. It is not always in my hands to make the decision. My ambition is to prove I am good enough to play week in, week out."
Days later, Slot acknowledged Kelleher's feelings and seemed to have no issues with his comments.
"I would be really worried if a player came out and said ‘I don’t care about playing first team football, I like it so much on the bench and want to stay there for the rest of my life’. That would be a bigger worry for me,"said Slot.
Arne Slot on Caoimhín Kelleher: "I would be really worried if a player comes out saying 'I don't care about playing first team football, I like it so much on the bench I want to stay there for the rest of my life!'"
— Irish Examiner Sport (@ExaminerSport) September 13, 2024
➡️ https://t.co/QJ71IW90h9 pic.twitter.com/UmGXNi6hsT
"It’s normal that he wants to play, but it’s also normal at a club like this, who tries to compete for trophies, has more than 11 players that can play.
"As long as they can accept their situation, not accept it in a way like ‘I don’t care that I’m not playing’, but accepting it by helping the team whenever you have to, then it’s a good place to be in."
Yesterday, after the Irishman pulled off some vital saves to keep his side's lead intact, the Liverpool boss told beIN Sports that it was a "good thing" that his team had Caoimhín Kelleher in goal.
"That's what you saw today. I just said about Cody [Gakpo], how good he was in San Siro, how good Lucho [Diaz] was now – and it's the same with the goalkeepers," said the Dutchman.
"We needed our goalkeeper today more than in all the other matches we played before because, like I just said, Bournemouth got more chances than I am used to seeing the other teams getting against us in the first six games of the season.
"But it was a good thing that we had Caoimhín today because he made some really good saves – which Alisson did in the other games as well, but he didn't have to make that many as Caoimhín made today."
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