Anthony Gordon insists the Everton squad have no worries they might be relegated but dismissed suggestions his team-mates don’t care about the club. Everton remain a point clear of the drop zone following Burnley’s 2-0 defeat at Brentford today. Asked if he’s worried by the prospect of staying up,
Anthony Gordon replied: “No. Not at all. I see day in, day out how good we can be. And it’s really annoying. To see us not do that week in, week out is really disappointing but I know we can do it, so I don’t have any worry. If we just get certain things right then all the worry will disappear. But we don’t worry within the group. We have said it too many times and keep making the same mistakes. We have no time for that any more. We are very aware of the position we are in and there is no time to be making mistakes. Look at where we are in the table. It is about correcting those mistakes and being together as a group and – first and foremost – fighting. In this league, with its physicality, if you fight first you give yourself a chance. Without any fight or aggression when you start games, you have no chance. We need to fight for ourselves and the club.”
While few would question Gordon’s commitment to the cause – he was one of the few players to emerge from Monday night’s shambolic 5-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur with any credit – he dismisses suggestions their current plight is down to any lack of concern.
Anthony Gordon said: “I can totally understand why people might think we don’t care. But football is our life. We give everything to it. If you look at it from that perspective, for a player not to care is a stupid way of thinking. We are in here day in, day out. We give our lives. We eat right, sleep right. We give our lives to it. Everyone here cares. It’s a massive deal and we’re striving together. Look, it’s a difficult period. But tough times bring out the best in people.”
Do all his team-mates hurt like the Everton home-grown hero though? Gordon thinks so.
Anthony Gordon continued: “Yes. From knowing them personally I really believe that. Obviously I can only speak on behalf of myself and how I feel. But being around the lads, having a good relationship with them, I really believe it.”
Given the talent in the group – Everton were second in the table as late as Boxing Day last season and had seven full internationals in their starting line-up against Spurs – some fans fear their struggles might be down to a lack of resilience. While Gordon acknowledges it’s hard to change a player’s temperament, he believes his team-mates do possess the stomach required for the relegation dog fight they find themselves in.
Anthony Gordon said: “It’s difficult because I don’t think you can build character – it has to already be in you. As a team, you can lose confidence and the character goes a little bit. Confidence is a massive thing in football. It’s hard to get and easy to lose. It’s about having your own individual pride as a player – 1 to 11. If you’ve got that then you’ll be fine. We just need to stick together and bring it out of each other more. If we can all go onto the pitch thinking ‘well, I’m doing my job and I know everyone else will do theirs’, then that is massive. It’s about taking that little bit of responsibility yourself and holding each other accountable. If we do that, then we’ll be fine.”
While manager Frank Lampard advised to not look at the table over the next several weeks, Gordon admits it’s impossible not to and he’s well-aware of both the position of Everton and the other teams around them.
Anthony Gordon added: “I am not going to lie and say I don’t look at it. I am a human being and I check the scores after games. We are very aware of the position we are in. What choice do we have? It is our fault we are there. We have got to fight. Yeah, definitely (checking the results of rivals), because if teams around us are losing it helps us a lot. But, in the end, it’s down to us, it doesn’t really matter how other teams are playing. If we perform like the manager wants us to and to the level we can, it doesn’t matter about anyone else.”
