Advertisement
Keiren Westwood: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
6-1

Bonner backs Westwood to move on from German horror

“He will not want to go through that again, for sure, but you have to go through those some times to know what it’s all about.”

LEGENDARY IRISH STOPPER Packie Bonner says that Keiren Westwood can bounce back from his night to forget against Germany and use the 6-1 drubbing as a positive experience.

Westwood won his 15th cap in goal as Ireland suffered their heaviest home competitive defeat on home soil in the calamitous World Cup qualifier earlier this month.

Rather than let one bad game shake his confidence, Bonner feels that the man chosen to fill Shay Given’s gloves has already shown his mental strength with his response against the Faroe Islands.

“Sometimes you’ve got to go through these things and you’re the better for it when you come out the other end,” the Donegal man, capped 80 times himself for Ireland, said at an ESPN event this week.

He will not want to go through that again, for sure, but you have to go through those some times to know what it’s all about. If you can come out the other end and perform, like he did ok in the Faroes, then you become a better goalkeeper for it.

He adds: “My first game for Celtic was a reserve game against Rangers and we got beaten 7-0 — at home. I was 17-years-old. You come out the other end and you say gee, what happened there? But you carry on, you’re a professional and you use it to motivate yourself.”

Westwood has only played twice for Sunderland this season, both of his appearances coming in the Capital One Cup while Simon Mignolet holds down the number one spot for the Black Cats. Coming from the sidelines straight into the action of international weeks is another tough challenge for the 28-year-old, Bonner says.

“At the end of my career I sat on the bench for Celtic, but I was coming to the end of my career. I was 33-years-old and I had all that experience behind me. I knew what it was like to go and have to perform at international level so I could motivate myself and get myself prepared physically and psychologically, even though I wasn’t playing.

He’s thrown into it now so it’s not easy for him. He can’t rely on his experience to get him through games and it’s quite difficult for him to peak for international games.

Lack of top-class leaders killing Trap’s transition, says McAteer

Your Voice
Readers Comments
1
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.