England international goalkeeper Nick Pope has revealed the two Ipswich Town stoppers who inspired him to reach the top of the game.
Pope, who has been capped twice by England, was a former Town season ticket holder and spent time in the Blues’ academy before being released at 16.
He worked his way back into the professional game, starting in non-league with Bury Town, earning a move to Charlton and subsequently joining Burnley in 2016.
The 26-year-old has always had an interest in goalkeeping and, as a child, always looked up to two Ipswich No.1s in particular.
“I was an Ipswich Town season ticket holder so the first goalkeeper I really watched, week in, week out, was Richard Wright,” Pope told Sky Sports’ Football Show.
“Then we had a goalkeeper after that called Kelvin Davis who was a really top, top goalkeeper. They were two I got to watch live in the ground a lot and two people to watch and learn from.
“Then into the Premier League there was Petr Cech, who was incredible.”
MORE: The story of Pope’s rise from student milkman to England’s World Cup squad after Ipswich releasePope also discussed how studying other goalkeepers has continued to help him throughout his career.
“I was encouraged from a young age to watch other goalies and appreciate different parts of their game to try and incorporate them into my own,” he said.
“Goalkeeper is one position but there’s so many different styles and ways of doing it so it’s really interesting.
“When I went to Charlton I was encouraged to go and watch live games, especially at Conference level because I was looking to go on loan there. That can help you see what that football looks like.
“You do appreciate how keepers work. You look at their feet quite a lot and with different angles and replays you can see all kinds of things, whether it’s positioning for a through ball and positioning for a shot.
“When you build that into your game you can find out how that works best for yourself and what you feel comfortable doing.”
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