“I’d always be in my own head, thinking I’m rubbish and didn’t deserve to be there, and Simon Mignolet said you didn’t win a competition to be here. That changed me.”

Danny Atherton spent nine years at Liverpool as a goalkeeper coming through the ranks at the academy, but his time has been remembered most through a rather unusual moment.

The Haydock-born red featured for Klopp’s side in a 2019 pre-season game against Tranmere, but not in his usual position between the sticks.

This game saw Atherton at the other end, trying to score against the home keeper at Prenton Park. The keeper had no idea this was going to happen, but after a nasty injury to fellow young talent Paul Glatzel, and James Milner’s suggestion to the manager, he was forced to wear the red strip.

“I’m very good with my feet; I just tell clubs I’m a bad midfielder. I’d get called over if the first team [outfielders] were a man down. There were times they’d do play-throughs, and I’d be on the right wing. For me, that was good enough for me, as technically I was right wing for Liverpool. They knew I could do it [play striker] if needed.

“Paul Glatzel unfortunately got injured, and it looked like a bad one; he did his ACL and full leg rupture in his knee. Jurgen used to play 11 players and have a second squad as he does for Germany, so it was only Milner who hadn’t got changed. It was the first game of pre-season, Klopp asked Milner if he could come on and he joked saying ‘just put Dan on ’, and Klopp went yeah. Sprinted in, grabbed a kit from the kitman, went on and was up front.”

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An experience any fan would latch onto, pictures from the game showed Atherton with a big smile on his face, giving lots of energy, and he even should have scored.

“All the videos still go round, and I’ve still got them on my phone, not like they’re in my favourite folder or anything. You see, I started smiling my head off and started organising everyone and was up front next to Divock (Origi). My Mum didn’t know I had even come on. I think I did alright.

“Everyone commented on how well I’d done. I should’ve scored. I remember Stevie Hunter was commenting on it. Ki-Jana Hoever passes it into me; I dropped in from nine. I wrapped it round to the winger, thinking, as a striker, to get it out to the winger and run in the box. So, I got it out wide, sprinted into the box and then turned back round, and they just recycled it back round the other way. I made a couple good tackles; I should’ve scored. The only reason I probably didn’t was that I was thinking I was going to score. I forgot to jump. One of the highlights of my life; it was surreal.”

With such a well-received performance, the young lad at the time was held in high esteem by his teammates on the day, which led to the now-26-year-old being known in the Liverpool camp as “striker goalie” after his performance, started by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

“Chamberlain used to call me striker goalie after that. A lot of them congratulated me and were buzzing for me.”

It was reflective of how welcoming and close the group were, with Atherton also mentioning how he could speak to anyone in the team because they were all top people as well as professionals.

“If I got in a lift with anyone in the squad, I could stand there and have a conversation with everyone. They would help me if they could. There’s no surprise that they went on to do what they went on to do because they have world-class players and the environment was unbelievable.”

That positive reputation for ‘striker goalie’ helped him maintain an important part of training, where he remained playing a mixture of goalkeeper and outfield until his release at the end of the 19/20 season.

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However, the now 26-year-old FC United stopper also hasn’t forgotten the lessons he took from the goalkeepers union during his time as a Red.

“I’d always be in my own head, thinking I’m rubbish and didn’t deserve to be there, and Simon Mignolet said you didn’t win a competition to be here. That changed me.

“I spent ages watching Alisson doing one-on-ones as he’s a joke at them. It’s taking little bits and pieces. Simon Mignolet would give me pointers a lot. It was like coaches within the actual GK union. I will now try to do my best to help the younger players as well because of that.”

Atherton looks back on his time at Liverpool with fond memories and has now started up a podcast (Don’t Want To Talk Podcast) to talk and reflect on his mental health in football, particularly linked with his time during and after Liverpool going into senior football.

The first episode is out now and can be caught on all streaming platforms.