He is one of the most admirable men ever to pull on the green shirt
AFTER Everton secured their Premier League spot on the second-last day of last season, manager Frank Lampard had one man he wanted to praise.
The TV cameras were allowed into the dressingroom after the Toffees came from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
Lampard was talking to his players and looking around him, looking for one man, in particular.
Seamus Coleman was sitting quietly in a corner, just taking it all in.
Lampard spotted his man and pulled Coleman to his feet, before hugging him warmly.
“This fella is one of the best people I’ve ever met,’’ he announced to the room.
Later, in an interview with Everton TV, Lampard expanded on his view.
“On day one in the job, Seamus came to me, sat in my office and was honest about the club,”he said. “Things that will remain private. But he was honest about the situation and the
size of the situation.
Change
“I could see straight away the burden Seamus was carrying, in a good way, because he cares so much, and he just wanted to change it.
“From then on, after those words, his actions have been something else: speaking, training, standards every day, performances in games.
“I have never seen humility like it, in my time in football. I heard a lot of good things about Seamus before I came to the club. He has gone there and beyond.”
Lampard summed up Coleman really well. He is one of the most admirable men ever to pull on the green shirt.
Injury meant he couldn’t start the season with Everton and Nathan Patterson did well in his place.
But Patterson has picked up an injury on duty with Scotland and that could open the door for the Killybegs man.
Coleman will be 34 in a few weeks’ time and there aren’t many Premier League rightbacks in that age bracket.
Look at some of the top players in his position. Reece James is 22, Trent Alexander-Arnold is 23, Kyle Walker is a veteran but he’s still two years younger than Coleman.
This is an era where many teams play their best attackers in wide positions so full-backs are up against the likes of Mohamed Salah, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Son Heung-min, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho on a regular basis.
Full-back has become an incredibly demanding position, one where there’s huge pressure on defenders on the flanks.
Convinced
But I think Coleman will grab his chance when he gets it with Everton and will be very hard to dislodge.
And I’m convinced that Ireland would have beaten Scotland on Saturday if he’d been brought on at half-time.
Matt Doherty is a really good wing-back — when he’s fit and sharp — but he looked way off