Simon Mignolet dispenses advice to dropped Loris Karius over lunch

"Pass the salt, please Simon."

"Don't drop it now, Loris... ONLY KIDDING!! Keepers union gags!" Loris Karius's mother may have told her handsome son there would be fortnights like this, but he probably would not have believed her. First he is at fault as Liverpool let a two-goal lead slip and lose away to Bournemouth, then he does an interview in which he mentions Gary Neville, then he is at fault as Liverpool drop two more points against West Ham, then he gets savaged by Phil Neville and then he is dropped. The German did not look exactly delighted to watch on from the dugout as Simon Mignolet kept a clean sheet against Middlesbrough. Perhaps he is pissed off with Jurgen Klopp for dropping him, or maybe he is grimacing at the thought of Thursday's lunch with his goalkeeping brethren. Mignolet told the Daily Mail that the annual Christmas custodians lunch was, by chance, scheduled for the day after the Belgian enjoyed a clean sheet on his return to the first team.

"Actually, it is a funny story, but we had our goalies union Christmas dinner for all the goalies at Melwood,’ said Mignolet on Wednesday night. ‘There will be around 10. All the young boys will come along.

‘The goalies union is something special. We only know our situation and what it is like. Like I said, I did not want to speak too much as we are team-mates and we have to push each other. I want to keep quiet and look at my own performances."

Alex Manninger, Mignolet and Karius can all reflect on how mistakes that you might get away with at a smaller club see you getting discussed like a criminal by thin-skinned pundits when you pull on the day-glo keepers kit of Liverpool.

"It won’t be nice for Loris but he is capable and professional enough to learn from it. You have to be mentally strong to deal with it," he said. "I am 28 and I have been through it. I know what it is like and it is not nice. You only get stronger from it. Especially at a club like Liverpool. One mistake gets really big out of nothing."