Seamus Coleman is convinced Everton will win a trophy soon but admits that he faces a race against time not to end his own Blues career empty-handed. Club captain since Phil Jagielka’s departure in 2019, his predecessor was just one of several long-serving players such as Leighton Baines and Tim Cahill who Coleman turned out alongside but whose Goodison Park careers ended without silverware. Turning 33 next month, the Republic of Ireland international is determined for the same fate not to befall himself.
Seamus Coleman said: “To be honest, if I get to the end of my career and I haven’t won a trophy with Everton, I will feel like I’ve not achieved what I wanted to do. When I went to Everton, the first aim was to break into the first team and I had little goals along the way, but then you really fall for the club and understand what the club means, you want to be part of that history of winning. You see the videos and images of Everton players lifting trophies in the 1980s and you understand how big the football club is. When some players sign for Everton, they don’t realise how big the football club is and how successful it was. Yes those trophy wins were a long time ago, but this is a big club. So if I get to the end of my career with the football club and haven’t won anything, I will look back on it with regret. I don’t want to be remembered as an Everton player who has played 300 or 400 games for the club and everyone says it’s a great achievement, well done. I want to win a trophy at the club and I will keep trying until I’ve kicked my last ball at the club.”
The latest man to be tasked with ending what is now the longest trophy drought in Everton history – which will enter a 27 th year in 2022 – is former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. Coleman’s first Blues boss was David Moyes who enjoyed an 11-year spell at the helm but since then, the right-back has worked under six gaffers in the space of the last five years and acknowledges that ultimately he and his team-mates have to carry the can to a large extent when it comes to such a lack of continuity.
Seamus Coleman said: “What’s disappointing for me is that we’ve had so many managers during my time at the club. Ultimately that’s a reflection on the players – I don’t think that’s a reflection on the manager. Personally I’ve been a part of the first team for 12 years so it’s also a reflection on me. We are crying out for success and we’ve not got the recipe right yet for whatever reason. I do believe that the club will win a trophy very soon. I don’t know how soon but that’s what we’re all looking for. We’re going into a new stadium very soon, we’ve got the financial backing now we didn’t have for many years and we have a manager in place who has a track record of success, so let’s be positive. It’s not like everything needs to be ripped up now and go again. But I do know every manager is different and he’ll want to put his own stamp on things as quickly as possible and bring his own style and philosophy.”
