Mignolet: Belgium must relish pressure to beat Ireland
Belgium must harness the 'positive pressure' they are under to ensure their Euro 2016 dream isn't ended by the Republic of Ireland, according to Simon Mignolet.
Marc Wilmots' men suffered defeat against Italy in their opening group game of the tournament, as goals from Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle capped an impressive performance from the Azzurri.
Another loss against the Irish today would seal the Belgians' fate, but Mignolet is confident he and his teammates can use the must-win nature of the fixture to their advantage.
"That's not how you want to start the tournament so we weren't happy with the result and the manner we played in that game," he said.
"But we have to move on, we've got Ireland [next] and we can use all the positives and negatives from the first game in the second game.
"It's a very important one, both for us and for Ireland, so we look forward to it and hopefully we can get the result we want.
"We want to win it, so it's positive pressure and it's energy that we have to use in the game to try to get the three points.
"[A win] would be a huge step going into the next round."
The 28-year-old also revealed why this afternoon's match holds special significance for him on a personal level.
He added: "It's special because first of all I know a lot of players from the Premier League and secondly because Martin O'Neill used to be my old gaffer at Sunderland.
"I know him very well, together with the coaching staff and obviously the goalkeeping coach, [who] I've still got a really good connection with.
"I speak to him on a regular basis and it will be nice to see him again and the whole staff on Saturday."