“LAWRENCE VIGOUROUX has spoken for the first time about being sacked by Swindon for paying a £50 fine in PENNIES. The Swansea goalkeeper built such a notorious reputation regarding his attitude that no club on these shores would touch him. 8 Lawrence Vigouroux is a changed man at Swansea Credit: Getty 8 The attitude and”, — write: www.thesun.co.uk
The Swansea goalkeeper built such a notorious reputation regarding his attitude that no club on these shores would touch him.
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Lawrence Vigouroux is a changed man at SwanseaCredit: Getty
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The attitude and ‘extras’ of Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane when he was a Tottenham youngster inspired VigourouxCredit: Getty
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The keeper is looking forward to a huge derby clash with CardiffCredit: RexBut Vigouroux has since learned the error of his ways and hopes to continue producing top performances to help the Welsh side return to the Premier League.
The 31-year-old is relishing playing in Saturday lunchtime’s South Wales derby at Cardiff.
The London-born former Chile Under-20 international used to be Harry Kane’s shooting training partner at Tottenham and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Steven Gerrard while a youngster at Liverpool.
But he caused a stink in Swindon when the Anfield giants loaned them the then 21-year-old stopper in 2015.
Vigouroux explained: “I was late to training after being delayed by a visit to the dentist.
“I had bad toothache and felt I shouldn’t have been fined because you cannot train when your teeth are hurting. But they insisted I pay.
“Because I felt hard done by, I decided to make it difficult for them so I visited the bank and asked for £50 in one pennies.
“The woman behind the counter thought I was a shopkeeper who needed change — but she only had £20 in one pennies. So in the end I settled for them plus another £20 of 2ps and a tenner of 5ps.
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Vigouroux has reunited with ex-Swindon chief Luke Williams at SwanseaCredit: Rex
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The stopper has been called up for Chile’s senior squadCredit: AlamyJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS
“I dropped them off to the fines collector — captain Nathan Thompson, who now plays for Stevenage — who wasn’t happy.
“Our manager Mark Cooper told me to leave and never come back.
“I felt bad and took the pennies back and paid it in notes.
“But when I returned to Liverpool, they weren’t happy.
“I had a frosty couple of days training from 8am to 6pm.
“Eventually Cooper invited me to Doncaster where Swindon were playing. I swallowed my pride, apologised and he took me back.”
Vigouroux concedes it was situations like that and often being late for training that made his name mud across the EFL.
And his advice to any youngster is: Be professional every day because nothing happens by luck. You can be in the right place at the right time to get an opportunity but if your attitude is not right you will not maintain it.
He said: “The easiest thing is making your debut, staying in the team is the hardest. You see lots of players from top clubs who drop down the leagues and find it hard to come back.”
One player he uses as a model pro is ex-Spurs team-mate Kane — now at Bayern Munich.
Vigouroux, who initially came through the youth ranks at Brentford, spent two seasons in North London.
He said: “Tottenham needed a training keeper for the Under-18s so I went there and they ended up signing me.
“The one thing I learned was how important the extras were. After training Harry would be on his own or I’d be with him in goal for an hour doing finishing.
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Jurgen Klopp wanted to take a look at Vigouroux after becoming Liverpool bossCredit: AP
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Vigouroux will always remember Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard congratulating him on winning a new contract at AnfieldCredit: Bradley Ormesher – The Times“It was good for me because I was working with someone who was unbelievable at finishing and seeing how his brain worked with angles and where he was more likely to score from. That helped me and him.
“That’s the main reason he is where he is now.
“It’s that attitude of it’s never enough and do those extras to hone your skills.”
Vigouroux was snapped up by Liverpool after a successful trial, following his Spurs coach and now Anfield academy director Alex Inglethorpe to Merseyside.
He said: “It’s a mental city. Everyone is football crazy, they support the team like it’s everything.
“Even though I was only playing in the Under-21s, I’d got spotted in the streets and stopped by fans.
“I didn’t even know how they knew me — but they did, perhaps from watching the Under-21s on Liverpool TV.”
And the keeper will never forget how, after agreeing a new contract at Anfield, Kop legend Gerrard came over at the training ground to congratulate him.
He said: “It’s something that has stuck with me my whole career.
“It doesn’t matter how big you are in the game, you should always be there to help and inspire youngsters.”
The penny-gate saga was not the only time Vigouroux was recalled to Liverpool from Swindon.
When Jurgen Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers in 2015, the German wanted to take a look at the keeper in training.
Vigouroux recalled: “It didn’t matter who you were or where you were, he got everyone in for a week to take a look. He wanted to know what he had.”
Swansea was once a Premier League club. We’re working as hard as we can and see where it takes us.Lawrene Vigouroux
Vigouroux went on to sign for Swindon permanently where he spent three years — including playing for current Swans boss Luke Williams — before spending six months in his dad’s home nation Chile playing for Everton de Vina del Mar.
He soon missed England but found it difficult to find a club before eventually Leyton Orient gave him a chance.
He said: “No one here would take me because of my reputation for attitude and being late for training.
“I got offered a contract, which was nowhere near the money I’d been earning before, but it was my last chance.”
Vigouroux took it with both hands and spent 3½ years there, winning the League Two title under boss Richie Wellens, who had earlier released him from Swindon.
He spent last season as a back-up keeper at Burnley during their doomed Premier League campaign before joining Swansea in the summer.
And his form has seen him called up for the last few Chile squads as they bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Vigouroux is happy to be reunited with Williams and said: “I knew he was a great coach at Swindon but he’s in a different stratosphere now.
“He’s a huge key to our success so far. Swansea was once a Premier League club. We’re working as hard as we can and see where it takes us.
“Cardiff is going to be a hostile atmosphere but we mustn’t let the occasion get to us.”
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Vigouroux must be dreaming of going to the 2026 World CupCredit: Getty