Neil Mellor joined Wigan Athletic on a six-month loan deal today, but he confirmed to the Liverpool FC website that he has no intention of leaving Liverpool permanently just yet. He’s happy to go to Wigan on loan, hopefully getting himself fit and back in the goals: “I am looking forward to playing for Wigan and scoring goals again. I have a lot of admiration for Paul Jewell as he was in a similar position to me when he was at Liverpool and I can learn from him. I spoke to the manager Rafael Benitez before I came here to Wigan and he told me it would be good for me to go out on loan, score some goals and get fit. He told me I was fifth choice striker at Anfield and I would only be playing for the reserves so this is a great opportunity for me at Wigan.”
The move down the road to Wigan means Mellor won’t be far from his family and friends between now and the end of the season, and with luck he feels that six months with Wigan could see him help himself get a little bit higher up the Anfield pecking order: “I don’t see this move as meaning my career at Liverpool is over. I love the club and they have been really good to me. I just want to prove myself, show I can score goals at the top level and stay injury free. It’s up to me to show what I can do.”
Mellor has bagged two goals for the reserves since his comeback from injury, and he’s now looking forward to renewing an old acquaintance: “I have been feeling really good in training and it’s the best I’ve felt for almost two years. Wigan are a good club and I know Stephane Henchoz well so hopefully I can get some games and score a lot of goals. I just love scoring goals and it has been frustrating being out injured for almost a year and I have missed that.”