Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has revealed how spending time on the bench earlier this season has made him a better player.

Belgium international Mignolet had a poor start to the campaign and was subsequently dropped to the bench with Brendan Rodgers drafting in Brad Jones.

But Australian keeper Jones' stint was short-lived as he lasted just two full league games before succumbing to an injury in his third Premier League start.

Since then, Mignolet has made the number one spot at Liverpool his own again.

Speaking to the NBC, he said: "Obviously it's never nice when you go out of the team, but from day one I wanted to make sure that my time out of the team was as short as possible, and the only thing I could do was work hard and make sure I kept improving.

"When the chance came along, I was ready for it. Unfortunately for Brad, he got injured, so it was a short space of time. I learned a lot through it and I think I've come through it a better keeper."