Ibrahima Konate has had to bide his time at Liverpool in his debut season, but his patience is finally paying off.
First-team opportunities have been hard to come for the defender but he has still looked impressive across his 17 appearances in all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp has what most managers would consider a welcome dilemma with the likes of Joe Gomez and Konate knocking on the door closely behind Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
The German has plenty of trust in Konate, however, as he subbed on the centre-back for Matip at the start of extra-time in the Carabao Cup final victory against Chelsea as the former RB Leipzig man helped secure the team’s clean sheet and converted from the penalty spot in the shootout.
Konate admits the fierce competition for places can be frustrating and sometimes getting left out makes him "angry", but he quickly puts that in the rearview mirror so that he is always ready when called upon, like when he was thrown on at Wembley with the game hanging in the balance.
He said: "Imagine, OK you are angry, you are sad, but two days after you have to play and you are not ready in your head and then you do a bad game," the defender told Liverpoolfc.com. "This would be like you saying to the coach: 'Yes, I know why I don't play.'
"You have to be ready every time and if you play [well], you put some problems in the head of the coach and this is good for the group and for you.
"After, if you don't play, it's you against you because OK, you will speak with the coach [and ask] why you don't play and he will explain to you, but this will not change [anything].
"Then you have to fight, you have to work more and if you don’t play you have to think and ask yourself [why].
"If you have the answer to your question, you work on this and this and this, and after your time will be coming. With the work, your time will be coming, for sure."
Klopp also revealed that the defender had been one of several players to work with the mental strength coaches at neuro11, ahead of the League Cup Final who specialise in helping players at set-pieces.
Konate took on board their advice regarding penalties and it clearly worked a treat as he fired home his spot-kick, like every other Liverpool player.
“I think if I start to speak about this, we will not stop!” he said when asked about the Carabao Cup final.
"It was an unreal, unbelievable weekend for me. My first title in professional football and with Liverpool, it was amazing and great.
"I was very, very happy and I’m happy today also that we have a lot of important games. We have to, not forget, but you have to put this [the final] to one side and we have to keep going for the rest of the season.
"I don’t have the words to describe this moment but I hope I will have a lot of moments like that with the club."
