Simon Mignolet has shared his thoughts as to why he firmly believes the crucial 2-1 win over Stoke City in April could be a defining moment for his Liverpool career.

During the victory at the Bet365 Stadium, the Belgium international pulled off two stunning saves to keep out efforts from ex-Red Charlie Adam and Saido Berahino, as the Reds came back from a goal down to pick up all three points.

Liverpool’s No.22 was an influential figure as he went on to keep four consecutive clean sheets in the final four games of 2016-17 as Jürgen Klopp’s charges secured Champions League qualification.

Looking back on the campaign which saw him bounce back in style after losing his place to Loris Karius, Mignolet insists the victory at Stoke gave him a huge amount of confidence.

“There was a reason why Stoke was so important to me,” said Mignolet.

“As a goalkeeper, you don’t stand out much. It’s not the same as being a striker when you can score a goal and everyone notices what you have done.

“I had that moment in the first game of my Liverpool career when I made the penalty save against Stoke.

“But there is another thing about saving a penalty and that is people will always say ‘oh, he’s guessed the right way’.

“As a goalkeeper at Liverpool, you don’t get worked that much. So I needed a game to come along again and show what I could do.

“Everything about that came at such a great time. We were losing 1-0, the spirit wasn’t the best because everyone was thinking ‘here we go again’ and people would have thought it was a sign we were going to miss out on the Champions League.

“So this was such a changing moment, for me and for the club. I had a chance to show what I could be for this team. It’s changed my career a bit.”

Asked if he now finally looks upon himself as an established Liverpool goalkeeper, he said: “That’s fair. There always seemed to be something happening around, a rumour here, someone saying something about me there. It all adds up and it never allowed me to have the basis to act like Liverpool’s no.1.

“But those things aren’t happening now. I’m much more settled now. Before the season there were things that I knew I needed to change: I wanted to be more consistent and make myself more important for the club.

“If I look back now, I can sit here and say with belief that I have been more consistent.

“I know there were mistakes, like against Stoke [at home] and the Chelsea goal [v David Luiz] but I have made important saves throughout the season against Stoke, Watford, West Brom, Chelsea.

“I can even think of ones against Leicester, Arsenal and Tottenham [from Toby Alderweireled].

“I’m happy with what I did and this year I know I can go away on holiday happy. I have been important.”

Mignolet also revealed the hard work behind the scenes he did with goalkeeping coach John Achterberg in becoming more confident at dealing with set pieces.

He added: “You have to be ready because the teams that play us either go for counter attack or set pieces.

“In the games with the set pieces, they are the ones where you have to put down a marker. Those are the hardest games. You don’t have much to do but then there might be one corner or a free-kick and you have to be there.

“I don’t want to go into the details but that was one of the things that the gaffer said to me.

“John spoke to me about getting more aggressive and I think I’ve learned that through the season. All credit to him for working on that and helping me through it.”

The stopper was also keen to pay tribute to the help behind the scenes he has received from Alex Manninger, who has announced that he will retire from the game upon the expiry of his Liverpool contract this summer.

He said: “Then there is Alex. I spoke to him over a few drinks in Sydney and I told him I had to thank him for everything he did.

“As a keeper, you can’t really go and speak to anyone in detail about what you are going through. Let’s be honest - I can’t go and speak to Joel (Matip) or Dejan (Lovren) or Studge (Daniel Sturridge) or Gini (Wijnaldum) about what I’m going through. You can’t do it with the guy you are competing with either.

“But Alex understands me and he has got the ideas. He’s got a similar character to what I have, so it was refreshing to speak with him. He’s played with top keepers through his career. He gave me that opportunity to bounce ideas off him when we were in a the gym.

“You wouldn’t necessarily do that with your coach and you certainly wouldn’t do it with an outfield player.

“This has been my best season for Liverpool but I am still taking things on board.”