It says a lot for Stefan Postma that he still has enthusiasm for keeping goal - or, indeed, for anything.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper, on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers, has spent so much time on the substitutes' bench that he has become the forgotten man of football in the Midlands.
He never made the grade with Villa - David O'Leary did not rate him - and hopes that Wolves would provide a chance have been frustrated.
He is 6ft 7in yet he could walk around Wolverhampton, or Birmingham city centre, virtually unnoticed. But occasionally, this charming Dutchman receives something of a boost: the chance to play a part in a match. He made his debut for Wolves away to Brighton & Hove Albion last Tuesday and hopes to keep his place for the match against Norwich City tomorrow.
Postma earned his chance after Michael Oakes, who also once kept goal for Villa, pulled out with an ankle injury. In the nicest possible sense, Postma hopes that Oakes is never able to return to the team.
"If you have got the shirt you have to keep it, and that's what I have to do," Postma said, although his track record in this department is not great. "At least I have shown that I am a quality goalkeeper. The boys know that as well now and I hope I can build on it."
If, as expected, Postma plays tomorrow, he will face the Molineux crowd for the first time. For him, however, it is only about winning - and Wolves have not done too much of that in recent weeks.
"It doesn't matter where you play, it can be away or at home, as long as you win," he said. "We have to get our season started again. We have to kick-start it and we haven't really done that.
"That's why we're a bit disappointed with Tuesday's result because, with all respect to Brighton, we lost points by drawing the game. It wasn't because they played particularly well but because we're not playing well enough.
"I don't think we're hard enough on ourselves and we're not demanding enough of each other in the team. We're too nice to each other and maybe that's why we're not getting results. We're accepting things too much."
