Dorus De Vries may be the only goalkeeping choice at the moment but he is not getting the easy treatment

De Vries is at the moment a shoe in for the goalkeeping spot at the Liberty thanks to Roberto's fruitless search to bring in a back up for the big Dutchman.

However, he is not getting preferential treatment as a result and is being put through his paces by goalkeeping coach Inaki Bergara who is pushing him as hard as he has ever done so.

And De Vries told today's Evening Post "I'm still training very intensely with Inaki, of course, it is nice when you have another keeper working with you as you need a back-up.

"But it doesn't bother me at all. The gaffer has many options and he will take his time to bring the right guy in.

"But I have a goalkeeping coach who has been nicknamed Rambo, so you can imagine what training has been like with him.

"With the personality I have I don't need someone to push me about - that would not be a good thing.

"You should be professional enough and motivated enough to stay at the top of your game and continue to improve.

"I want to learn at this level and show my ability. I think I have a lot to prove, so there is no better motivation than that.

"Inaki is a tough coach, he will work you until he knows you have absolutely nothing left, but you know you are gaining so much from it.

"With me being the only keeper he gets to spend all his time with me, and that helps a lot. He gives me a lot of focus and during training we concentrate on a lot of different scenarios. We do a lot on distribution, crosses and general match awareness.

"I enjoy it because he is a coach who really motivates you to a high level. He has played in La Liga and that is a top level. He has a lot of knowledge and you can only learn from that.

"Inaki gives me a lot of confidence.

"It's a great compliment from Roberto that he has not rushed to bring someone in," said de Vries.

"I am a strong lad and I won't pull out of anything in training.

"On Monday we had a tough training session and Inaki stepped in when I was really tired. But the players are hard on me because they have to keep me and themselves sharp."

Photo: Action Images

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