Mignolet: I always knew he had that in him
Divock Origi's recent impressive form for Liverpool has come as no surprise whatsoever to Simon Mignolet.
The Belgian striker has scored twice in his last two outings for the Reds, bringing his tally for the season to an impressive 10 goals in 36 appearances, of which just 15 have come as starts.
With Jürgen Klopp revealing that Sadio Mane is likely to be out until the end of the season due to the knee injury he recently sustained, Origi is set to receive more chances to shine as the campaign comes to a close.
Should the 21-year-old get the nod, Mignolet is confident he can make a big contribution in the push for a top-four finish.
"I’m not impressed. I always knew he had that in him," the goalkeeper told Liverpoolfc.com. "He’s got all the ability he needs to be a very good Premier League striker.
"He’s quick, he can hold the ball up for us, he can win duels and he scores goals and that’s the most important thing as a striker.
"He’s got two in two now and I hope that he can keep scoring until the end of the season."
Liverpool boast the most prolific attack in the Premier League this season, having notched 66 goals in their 31 fixtures thus far.
And the knowledge that the Reds' frontline can breach any defence helps spread confidence throughout the team, according to Mignolet.
He added: "We know we’ve got that quality up front. They can change the game immediately.
"Phil came back together with Roberto from Brazil off international duty with a magnificent performance against Everton and he scored a goal [against Bournemouth] also.
"Unfortunately, Sadio went off injured [against Everton] but Divock came on and did well for us, scored two goals already, which will give his confidence a boost.
"Let’s hope he can continue in that way until the end of the season."
Liverpool remain locked in an intense battle for Champions League qualification with seven fixtures of their Premier League season left.
Mignolet admits it is sometimes difficult to ignore the results the Reds' rivals are picking up, but says that is the only way to ensure full focus on an objective the players are all desperate to achieve.
He said: "We knew at the beginning of the season, before a game was played, that there would be huge competition for that top-four spot until the last game.
"That won’t change, we’ll have to fight for every point we can get until the end of the season, as will every team.
"Every three points is tough to get in the Premier League, so it’s not only for us, it’s for every team.
"But we have to look at ourselves and not look over our shoulder to what our opponents are doing.
"We have to make sure that we rack up the points we [need] to get in the Champions League because that’s the objective and we want that. In the dressing room everybody’s hungry for that.
"Of course, you’ll always have one eye on the opponents and their results, but we can’t really be flustered by that.
"We have to focus on our job, which is playing football matches and trying to win games and points. That’s what we’ll try and do again, step by step, and the next one is Stoke on Saturday."