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Simon Mignolet has to bounce back from his Sunderland nightmare: Northern Exposure

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As his team-mates kicked off following West Brom’s second goal on Saturday, Simon Mignolet pulled his bright orange shirt up to his chin and cursed himself again.

He thought twice about pulling his shirt all the way over his head and disappearing from view completely, but shook his head, straightened himself and his garment and got ready for the next 46 minutes.

The half-time whistle went shortly after his opposite number Boaz Myhill had somehow kept out a drilled, swerving free-kick from Craig Gardner. It was the third stroke of luck West Brom’s stand-in keeper had in the first 45 minutes. Who’d be a goalkeeper?

Error: Simon Mignolet

When he plodded forlornly to the dressing room, Mignolet was still cursing himself. The words of encouragement registered but he looked in a daze.

Whatever he said to himself during the break, and was presumably said to him, Mignolet returned for the second half with the gift to Shane Long behind him. He may have been helpless to stop Romelu Lukaku’s penalty, and a fine goal from Marc-Antoine Fortune, but Mignolet did make one excellent save to deny the Irish striker. He has been doing it all year.

    More from Colin Young...   Northern Exposure: Sunderland are still a club in transition with Paolo Di Canio ready to instill radical changes 15/05/13   Pardew denies Newcastle rift as Di Canio calls for 'nice' Sunderland to develop an edge... but both are at risk of relegation 03/05/13   Northern Exposure: How long can Di Canio's Sunderland honeymoon last? 23/04/13   NORTHERN EXPOSURE: Paolo and Pardew ride the North-East rollercoaster... but is one of them heading for oblivion? 17/04/13   Northern Exposure: It's nearly time for the Tyne-Wear derby but who are the 22 players that Pardew and Di Canio should select? 10/04/13   Northern Exposure: Sunderland can't sweep this furore under the carpet, it would never have happened under Quinn's watch 03/04/13   Northern Exposure: Newcastle are flying in Europe but the main talking point is Pardew's beard! 14/03/13   Northern Exposure: The Toon Army are set for another long Europa League trip this week... but so are their opposition 05/03/13   Northern Exposure: Boro's form went down with the Christmas decorations leaving promotion hopes hanging by a thread 27/02/13   VIEW FULL ARCHIVE  

And as he walked off at the final whistle, he was acknowledged again by the few thousand Sunderland fans who had stayed around.

They do like their keepers at Sunderland, something to do with a certain save by Monty in 1973 I suspect, and it meant a lot to the Belgian.

Mignolet could have got straight into his car on Saturday night. Instead, with the chorus of his name still ringing in his ears, he made himself available for interview in the tunnel immediately after the game. It’s pretty rare nowadays.

He had also arranged to meet a writer from a Belgian football magazine. He had certainly picked his moment to report on Mignolet’s progress in his battle to be Belgium’s No 1 with Atletico Madrid’s equally excellent Thibaut Courtois.

He had to delve deep and be honest. And he also we wanted to apologise and say thanks for the warm reception from Sunderland supporters. He talked about learning from the biggest mistake of his career (so far) and putting it behind him immediately.Mignolet trained like a beast on Monday morning.

Manager Martin O’Neill said: 'He was very down amazingly so it is not surprising. He is so so keen and one of the best trainers I have ever known.

'He had a problem last week hurt himself the day before Fulham. He was very uncomfortable during the course of the match but said he would play when on Saturday he was pretty poor. But he wanted to play.

'We gave him couple of days rest last week, although I thought he was brilliant against Fulham, and he felt maybe not doing training left him short of work. That can happen. He made a mistake but I expect him to come good.

'It can happen but he will come through it. He is young and he is a very very good goalkeeper.’

Mignolet is a very good goalkeeper. But like all keepers, he will have moments like Saturday when he makes a mistake in front of watching millions, it will cost his team a goal.

It happened to Ali Al-Habsi at Wigan too. And he never makes mistakes.

 

The trouble with denying a story which isn’t true is that it can give it legs.

Sunderland and Martin O’Neill will feel they had no choice. In an era where Twitter is treated like journalism, and fact, they wanted to stop the wildfire.

The rumour about Martin O’Neill’s alleged resignation has been around for weeks. Some of it disrespectful. The North East thrives on rumour and humour and I’ve heard plenty over the years and lost count of the number of players spotted at Seaham Hall Hotel in transfer windows.

But there is nothing in this one. And how can I be so sure?

I sat in the press conference room with Martin O’Neill, when he scoffed at the suggestion he quit jobs.

'If you want to go down that road’, he said. 'I spent five years at Wycombe, five years at Celtic and four and a half at Leicester and four years at Aston Villa. I am not sure where the quitting thing comes in.’

Firm denial: Martin O'Neill says he never offered to resign from Sunderland

And then he laid out quite clear plans that he is on a mission at Sunderland, it is going to take him time to get there, but he is in the job to succeed, with an owner on the same path, if not marching slightly ahead of him.

And this isn’t me accepting the SAFC party line. O’Neill said it. And he didn’t really need to.

But if there was one thing he wanted on the record, it is his commitment to Sunderland’s cause, and the supporters who have been waiting for so long for this reign.

'The owner has said to me it will take some time to get things together here and I would be hoping I don’t intend to do it in 10 years as that would bore the life out of everybody.

'But I intend to do it as quickly as I possibly can. We’ve had some very good conversations and he is the one pointing out to me this will take time. He is not expecting anything at the minute and he genuinely wants stability at the football club.

'I want to do well at the club. I think more importantly I expect to do well.’ Hopefully that is now the end of it. Although winning a few more matches would help.

O’Neill was speaking at his press conference ahead of tonight’s clash with QPR.

There was also talk of the potential of new-manager syndrome in a visiting team who have not won away all season. It’s not a fixture Sunderland have a habit of being comfortable with.

 

This afternoon it is the turn of Alan Pardew to meet the media as he prepares for the visit to Stoke City where Newcastle won so well last season, thanks to a Demba Ba hat-trick.

It is a very different Newcastle, and Ba, travelling to the Britannia and Pardew has to address the alarming slide down the Premier League table with a damaged squad.

Three and easy: Demba Ba scored a hat-trick the last time Newcastle played Stoke

Fabricio Coloccini is back at last, which will make a massive difference, but it is going forward where the real problems lie. It’s not easy winning games without Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye, with Ba and Papiss Cisse still failing to totally replicate the form and goals of last season in tandem.

Pardew will look to rally his troops, and the club’s frustrated supporters, starting, no doubt, with a positive message for the cameras this afternoon.

  More... Good Gord! He once cost Sunderland boss Roy Keane £9m... but the keeper is STILL available on a free going into December Double blow for O'Neill who was told he had 'resigned' while re-watching West Brom defeat



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