Keeper Cooper's Super Duper

ARGYLE goalkeeper Remi Matthews believes young Pilgrim Michael Cooper is one to watch out for.

Michael, 18, recently signed his first professional contract after a season which has seen him star between the posts for the Academy and make his first-team debut as an apprentice.

He was one of the outstanding performers in the club's FA Youth Cup run which saw the Young Pilgrims reach the fifth round after knocking out Manchester City and Burnley.

That came after he had already played for the first team, back in October when he was called upon from the substitutes' bench at half-time after Kyle Letheren injured his thigh. He put in a superb performances, keeping a clean sheet in the second half to earn the Pilgrims a valuable point.

Asked whether Coops could progress as a professional, Remi said:

“In my opinion, I think he has got hell of a chance.

"Attitude wise, the way he trains, the way he is a person - he has got every attribute there. He has just got to keep his head down, keep working hard and, when he gets a chance, he has taken it.

"He’s got to keep impressing the right people and he has a real chance, 100%.

“What helps is he has been around the likes of Luke [McCormick] and Kyle, and myself to an extent - more senior experienced 'keepers - and [goalkeeping coach] Reece, so he has been in that environment.

"At one stage, it was just me and him training, and that did him the world of good. He had more attention so he can work on it.

"I speak to him and he will speak to me and that’s what you need as a goalkeeper. You need to give people advice from your experiences and go from there.

"I definitely will be keeping an eye out for him as he has a great chance.”