Caoimhin Kelleher is ready to shake off the tag that he is one of the best second goalkeepers in the Premier League as he continues to eye a regular starting role.
Another injury to Alisson will thrust Kelleher back into a starting role at Anfield, with the Brazilian expected to miss at least the next seven matches with a hamstring issue.
It is not lost on Kelleher, nor anyone, that once Alisson is fit he will walk straight back into the side, but that does not take away from the talent the Irishman possesses.
He is widely regarded as the best No. 2 in the competition, and Liverpool are fortunate to have a player of his calibre ready to step in when the inevitable injury arrives to their No. 1.
In a chat with talkSPORT Daily before the trip to Palace, the No. 2 tag was put to Kelleher, and he quickly reiterated that it is not his goal as he wants to “play week in, week out.”
“It’s probably not a tag I want,” Kelleher admitted. “I want to be playing week in, week out and be that No. 1.
“At the moment, the situation for me is I’ll get these opportunities and I need to do well when I do get the opportunities and play well.
“That’s kind of my main focus, obviously. When I do get that chance to come in and play well.
“It is important I play week in, week out now and get that No.1 position. I have to show everyone I am capable and good enough to play week in, week out.
“I feel I have the quality to play well when needed, even if that means I’m not playing a game in a few weeks I can come in and still show my quality, so that’s the most important part – to be ready when called upon.”
“I feel I have the quality to play well whenever I’m needed, even if that means I’ve not played a game for a few weeks I can come in and still show my quality and do well.
“So I think that’s, obviously, the most important part, just to be ready whenever called upon.”
Kelleher says “I want to go”
The club rejected a lacklustre bid from Nottingham Forest over the summer, one of the only tabled offers for a player many in the Premier League would be lucky to have.
It meant Kelleher was to stay, even though the writing was quickly on the wall when the Reds signed Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will officially arrive next summer.
And it was not lost on the Irishman, who admitted a desire to leave in the wake of Liverpool’s new direction.
“I made it clear in the last few years I want to go be a number one and play week in, week out,” Kelleher said in September.
“The club made the decision to get another goalkeeper [Mamardashvili]. From the outside looking in, it looks like they have made a decision to go in another direction.
“My ambition has always been clear the last few seasons, that I want to be a number one. It looks like it is 100 percent my decision, but at times it is not always in my hands.”
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