Lucky Andy Lonergan continues the fairytale
Liverpool are letting Andy Lonergan live his best life.
The third choice goalkeeper has been handed a contract extension by Liverpool, reported David Lynch in the Evening Standard, and will now be available until the end of the season.
By the time the rearranged Premier League campaign draws to a close, Andy Lonergan’s one-season fairytale will close. But for now he’s still at the club and it caps one of the most unlikely stories of the season.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this for the 36-year-old, who found himself going from the Championship to the Champions League by mistake.
Injuries meant that Lonergan was called to train with Liverpool during their preseason tour, and injuries meant he was handed a season-long contract to provide cover for the first team.
After 355 appearances in the second tier, the goalkeeper will be sharing celebrations with the new Premier League champions.
The levels of this rise can’t be understated.
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And for a man in the twilight of his career, the timing couldn’t have been better. Luck put him into a good position, but hard work and the right attitude ensured Liverpool kept him on for the full season and that is a lesson for everyone out there.
The Evening Standard wrote that goalkeeping coach John Achterberg is a big fan of the way he conducted himself on the pitch and the regard in which the rest of the squad hold him.
"“He has a great mentality and has been a good help for us, so from that side he deserves the extension.“He works well with the other ‘keepers – with Ali and Adri – and is well liked by all of the players.”"
Lonergan has even acted as a mentor to some of the younger players, which is always encouraging to see.
"“He gives advice to Caoimhin [Kelleher] along with the goalkeeper coaches and that’s good.”"
Not many players are given the chance to join Klopp’s machine and not many 36-year-olds get recruited by the Champions League winners.
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This is a true fairytale story in every sense of the word and it’s just been extended by a few months.