Clem praises Reina

Last updated : 15 April 2006 By Al Campbell
Pepe Reina has had an impressive debut season for Liverpool. In the 49 games he has played for the club to date he has kept 29 clean sheets. His performances have earned the praise of Liverpool's greatest ever goalkeeper, Ray Clemence.

"When I broke into the Liverpool side I owed a lot to the experience of players like Ron Yeats and Tommy Smith," said Clemence.

"Reina has benefited from having the likes of Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia in front of him. Every keeper will tell you that there's nothing better than a settled back five, with the same defenders and keeper developing an understanding.

"From what I've seen so far, it's his shot-stopping and decision making which has impressed me most. There are still one or two areas he needs to work on, particularly when dangerous balls are put into the box and there are a lot of bodies around, but he seems to have an ability to see danger and he reads balls over the top of the defence quickly.

"He's done very well over his first fifty games, but at Liverpool that's still only a short amount of time. What's important now is he continues this. Statistics such as this don't mean anything if you don't go on to win the trophies."