Thomas Kaminski says the club retaining the services of goalkeeping coach Ben Benson was an important move by the club.

Kaminski marked his two-year anniversary at the club yesterday having been a mainstay of the side since his £450,000 move from KAA Gent. In that time he has been a virtual ever-present, been named player of the year in 2020/21 and earned a call-up to the Belgium squad.

The 29-year-old credits goalkeeping coach Benson with playing a key role in his development. That comes as the club opted to retain the services of Benson, along with David Lowe and Damien Johnson, among their managerial change over the course of the summer.

“It was really important for me,” Kaminski said of Benson staying on.

“Since day one I’ve had a really good connection with me.

“He’s always been honest with me, telling me where to improve, so he’s definitely not telling me every day how good I am, but he’s telling me every day what I need to improve which is important for me

“He tells me the truth which is important.”

Kaminski has welcomed the new approach under Jon Dahl Tomasson in what he described as a ‘European’ coaching style. But keeping continuity within the goalkeeping department is something the Belgian has welcomed.

He said: “I think that part of consistency is important I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that.

“The other goalie’s find that important.

“Ben is an ambitious person, very intense with us which is exactly what we need, what I need.”

Kaminski is now only six games short of reaching a century of appearances for Rovers and signed a contract extension through to 2025 last year.

On his two-year anniversary, he said: “I’ve really enjoyed every minute.

“The club is a club where young players can develop. I had the feeling that I came at 27, a little bit older, but I can still improve and I have the feeling that they want to make the players better.

“It’s a club where people want you to do well and everyone knows each other which is really nice.

“I signed a new deal which showed I’m happy, the club happy, but it’s all about performances and you need that to stay in the team.

“There’s a positive mood at the club, we’re all aiming for the same goals and the best team-building is winning which is what we’ll look to do.”

A target for Kaminski will be to improve on the 13 clean sheets he kept in his 43 appearances last season.

He started the season with back-to-back shut-outs before conceding from a deflected effort in the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Kaminski was left disappointed by Ollie Norwood’s free-kick in the defeat to Sheffield United, and said of his performances this season: “The first three games were good, I think I struggled a bit at Reading.

“The free-kick (at Sheffield United) was a frustrating one, but sometimes you go through these times where it doesn’t quite go for you, but you try and stay in the game and that’s what I tried to do against Sheffield United.

“When you concede three you’re always disappointed.

“People will say you can’t leave your corner open, I set up the wall, they set up three or four players as well. I couldn’t see the ball, but it was my mistake to make a shift to the left, where I couldn’t react any more.

“I take responsibility for that.”

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