Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford admits Everton’s players haven’t given the fans what they want this season but has vowed to get Goodison Park “bouncing” this Saturday under Duncan Ferguson as they face Aston Villa. Rafa Benitez was sacked as manager on Sunday following the Blues ’ 2-1 defeat to bottom club Norwich City left him with just one with from their last 13 Premier League games. With Ferguson stepping up as caretaker boss, Everton are hoping for a similarly passionate display at the weekend to the rousing 3-1 win over Chelsea in December when the Scot previously took charge for the first time.
Jordan Pickford said: “Football is all about results, it starts on Saturday and we know we need to get the feel-good factor in the building and get momentum going again. Duncan and his staff will have us right up for the game. Our only motivation this weekend is to get three points, to give the fans something they want and what we haven’t given them for the past few months. That’s not been us not trying, it hasn’t clicked in games. But now it is about us going out there, chests out and chins up, getting that result and getting Goodison bouncing again. It’ll be a good, tasty game and the fans will be right up for it. You could see the difference Duncan made last time. He is such a legend of the club, it was a perfect fit and performances were really good. Training has been brilliant, everyone respects him and he is the ideal person to lead us out on Saturday. The respect the players have for him, we will work our socks off for him and do everything he wants on the pitch. He will make sure we are hard to beat but will want us to get the ball in the box and create opportunities. Training is fun but always high intensity and hard work. We know after the Chelsea game how proud Duncan is to lead us, so to get a result for him again would be incredible.”
At 27, Pickford, who has been at Everton four four-and-a-half years, is now one of the club’s senior players. As the second-longest serving member of the side – behind captain Seamus Coleman – that started at Norwich City last week he knows that he and his team-mates need to start taking on responsibility.
Jordan Pickford added: “I know Seamus, as captain, needs other the leaders on the pitch to create team togetherness. I feel we have that [togetherness] and that I can help Seamus. I have always talked on the pitch to try to help my team-mates and I am more than capable of helping on and off the field. I have been consistent but it is not about my performances, it is about winning. I am in a good place and working hard on the training pitch. I want to continue that and, hopefully, in the next few months, we can get results and clean sheets and restore that feel-good factor. There is nothing worse as a player than not winning. We are motivated to win games and when it’s not going well, how can we change that? It is about working hard on the training pitch and that will breed into the games. It all starts from training well and I think we will get a good result on Saturday.”
Despite Everton’s lowly position – they’ve now slumped to 16 th in the table – Pickford, who penned a new six-year contract in September 2018 to commit himself to the club until 2024, remains determined to secure silverware on Merseyside.
Jordan Pickford said: “We have the history behind the club, but as players we want to create our own history. We want to win stuff here. It is harder than you think, sometimes. It is about working hard and digging in and having a goal and going after that goal and trying to achieve it. We want that as players and the board and owner and fans want it. That is what Everton is about, winning and being successful. We know it has been tough over the past few years. How can we change that? By going and winning games.”
