'I didn't sleep for days': Nick Pope revisits red card nightmare and how it motivated him to become Newcastle United hero
Nick Pope has been an absolute bargain of a signing after joining Newcastle United for just £10 million back in 2022.
The England goalkeeper has never been able to nail down his spot in the national side, but has been Newcastle's number 1 for much of his time on Tyneside.
Some injuries have kept him out of the starting lineup, and when deputy keeper Martin Dubravka was drafted in to cover, he did so well that it became difficult for Eddie Howe to drop him, but Pope did ultimately get his spot back.
This summer, Pope was handed the No. 1 jersey after Dubravka's departure, but now he has another England keeper backing him up in the form of Aaron Ramsdale, who is doing all he can to keep Pope honest.
Nick Pope used his red card blunder as fuel
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for Pope at Newcastle, though. In the 2022/23 season, Pope had to miss the Carabao Cup final for Newcastle after getting sent off against Liverpool for handling the ball well outside of the area. Newcastle had to rely on third-choice keeper Loris Karius for the final as Martin Dubravka was cup-tied after appearing for Newcastle's opponents in the final, Manchester United, in the competition earlier in the season, while on loan.
Speaking to Ben Foster on the Fozcast podcast, Pope went into detail about the incident and how it affected him, with the 33-year-old saying he didn't sleep for days. We assume he means nights.
“I didn’t sleep for days, if I’m honest. It was a difficult period – this would’ve been a Saturday night game, then you go back into training, and the next game is a final, and you know you’re not playing.
"The build-up to the final was a massive thing, and I’d never been in a final before – it was a tough period. You’re thinking you’re never going to get another shot – I was 31/32 at the time, and by the time Newcastle next get to a final, I could be long gone, realistically."
Nick Pope felt March's cup final was his time
Of course, Pope did get the opportunity again when Newcastle got to the final of the Carabao Cup last season. Pope played a blinder against Liverpool in that game and made some crucial saves to help Newcastle on their way to lifting the cup.
“Beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final was one of my best moments," he added. "Holding the trophy above my head was special.
"We were a joke that day. As team performances go, we could have had so many more goals. When you have that feeling like the teams on it, especially with 40,000 Geordies behind you, and it feels like life or death.
“From a selfish point of view, I missed the previous final, so for me, that was my time.
“The celebrations were heavy and unbelievably emotionally draining. You get to the end of the night, in the early hours of the morning and you sit back and just think about how amazing that was.
