Speaking to OTB, Jason McAteer has been discussing Caoimhin Kelleher after his heroics in the Carabao Cup.
The Irishman was arguably the star of the final on Sunday against Chelsea. Kelleher made a string of vital saves during the game before converting the crucial penalty in the shootout.
Understandably, McAteer was buzzing for his fellow countryman, and while he was ecstatic to see Kelleher doing so well, he says that he has split emotions about the goalkeeper due to his lack of first-team minutes.
McAteer shared how he feels about Kelleher.
“It was just this whole story of the Carabao Cup run, obviously Minamino has taken the headlines for this tournament and being the player for Liverpool who has scored the most goals and it’s his tournament, but for me, it was Caoimhin Kelleher. It’s great to have him at the club, but it’s not so great that he’s behind the world’s best goalkeeper, and he gets limited gametime and I have split emotions about that really,” McAteer said.
It’s understandable that McAteer would feel this way, and to be honest, Kelleher himself probably has a similar point of view.
Yes, the goalkeeper has just played a huge part in winning a major trophy, but he knows as well as anyone that by the time the weekend rolls around he’ll be back on the bench.
At some point, he’ll have a decision to make. Does he want to continue to bench warm at Liverpool for the rest of his career and ply his trade solely in the cups, or does he want to try to establish himself elsewhere?
Kelleher’s situation is a tough one, that’s for sure.
