Jagielka: My Everton kit was brought out in a bin bag
PHIL JAGIeLKA offers an apology. We are five minutes into a revealing half-hour and he wants to correct a slip of the tongue, caused by two small words. He has used the word ‘we’ to talk about everton, rather than ‘they’ and raises his hand to clarify. A few moments later, though, he makes the same mistake and repeats it for a third time — accompanied by a wry smile and laughter — before our time is up. Jagielka has returned to sheffield United, the club where he learned his trade, but it is not proving easy to move on following his release from everton in June. He made 385 appearances over the course of 12 years at Goodison Park and won 40 england caps as one of his generation’s top defenders. The affection he holds for everton is beyond question and he is emotional about returning to Merseyside today, so it makes the story he tells about how it all ended — with his belongings handed to him in a bin bag — feel unsatisfactory. It must be stressed this split was not laced with acrimony. Jagielka’s contract had expired and everton, who were pursuing a deal for Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, didn’t want to leave him hanging. still, a servant of his quality should not have left through the side door. ‘I just texted Tony sage, the kitman, to chuck all my stuff in a bin bag and I went to meet him at the front of the entrance at Finch Farm. I didn’t want to go in. It just didn’t feel right to go in. ‘What do you expect me to get? A Louis Vuitton bag? It was fine. I just had a few pairs of boots, some socks and stuff. I knew I may never go back there.’ As last season was winding down and questions were being asked about his future, head coach Marco silva was non-committal. Jagielka was introduced in the 89th minute of everton’s final home game against Burnley but, at that stage, he had not given up hope of receiving a contract extension. ‘I remember myself and Leighton Baines were on the bench,’ he recalled. ‘Neither of us had committed or signed anything by then, so we were not sure what was going on. He (silva) put me on for the last few minutes, so I had a little laugh with Bainesy and said, “That must be me done, then!” ‘It was my decision to want to keep playing football, to go and look for somewhere. ‘The fact of the matter is they were fantastic for me for 12 years and I’d like to think I did OK for them.’ Jagielka was a model of consistency and his place in fans’ affections was secure long before his stunning, 35-yard strike in the 2014 Merseyside derby at Anfield, which he calls his personal highlight. A proud club captain at Goodison, he should receive a thunderous ovation today. ‘I am sure the everton fans will understand I want three points,’ said Jagielka. They will. And there is no need for him to apologise for that.