Jens Lehmann admits that Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius ‘is not yet perfect’, but has urged Jurgen Klopp to ignore calls for the German to be dropped.
The Reds’ summer signing has endured a baptism of fire in the Premier League, with some high-profile errors thrusting him firmly under the spotlight.
Karius was at fault late on in a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Bournemouth and saw his performance called into question once again over the weekend as a Dimitri Payet free-kick slipped past him in a 2-2 draw with West Ham.
Pressure is mounting on Klopp to take the 23-year-old out of the firing line and recall the more experienced Simon Mignolet.
Lehmann, though, believes that the Reds need to keep faith with an under-fire performer or risk doing long-term damage to the self confidence of a man who remains a ‘fantastic prospect’.
He told talkSPORT: "It will be a good challenge for him to prove the critics wrong.
"He is a fantastic prospect. Jurgen Klopp probably has bought him for the future, not for an immediate impact.
Neville adds more spice to Karius row
"I was 10 years older when I came to England but I know the change of system to play in the Premier League from the Bundesliga is massive and, for a young guy who didn’t even make it to the top in the Bundesliga, it is really hard because you need to find yourself as a goalkeeper.
"Technically he is not yet perfect but who is at that age? It is about development and Jurgen Klopp knows what he is doing. Of course, he has to back him now because if he drops him or if he doesn’t back him it will have a major impact on Karius’ self confidence.
"At the end of the day, you see how strong players are. That bit of anger inside of him, he should perform a little bit better."
Lehmann had won league titles with AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund before he moved to Arsenal in 2003.
Liverpool need to buy in January
He had made close to 500 club appearances and was an established part of the Germany international set-up.
Karius, in contrast, arrived in England having taken in just 96 first-team outings for Mainz and was promoted to the number one spot at Anfield just over a month into the 2016-17 campaign.