Someone’s KEANE on Big Sam
HOW ALLARDYCE HELPED £25 MAN M DURING HIS EVERTON BAPTISM OF FIRE
SAM ALLARDYCE may not be loved by Everton fans but Michael Keane has credited him for helping him through a baptism of fire.
Keane struggled to live up to his £25million price-tag as Everton’s form collapsed in the first half of the season.
But the former Burnley centre-half is returning to his best under Allardyce (below) and says the Blues boss has helped him understand his role better.
“I felt comfortable at Everton straight away,” said Keane. “I settled in nicely but then things did not go well for the team for a few months.
“It was tough for everyone and I was part of that. Hopefully I’m coming out of that now – I feel I have been doing consistently well over the past month or so. Those tough experiences can only make you stronger and more determined not to go through the same thing again. I’ve been a lot more settled since the manager came in and I know what my role is in the team.
“You want to be clearminded and understand your role and responsibilities going into a game. That’s how it is with the manager here.”
Keane, 25, says he has also learned from old heads at Goodison, such as skipper Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams.
“There are people at the club who have a lot of experience, the likes of Jags and Ash, Leighton Baines as well, and I take things from them,” he said. “They speak a lot of sense about the game and I feel I can take little bits from them just from watching them in training every day.
“Analysing my own game is important to me. I know what I am good at and what things I can do better.”
Keane’s loss of form has cost him his England place and, ironically, his former Burnley teammate James Tarkowski, who replaced him at Turf Moor, took his spot in Gareth Southgate’s last Three Lions squad.
Yet the former Manchester United trainee refuses to give up on his World Cup dream, especially after Southgate witnessed his solid display in the Merseyside derby earlier this month.
“While I was really disappointed not to be in the last England squad, it just gives you the motivation to work harder and want to get into the next one,” he said.
“I feel like I’m still in the manager’s thoughts for the World Cup. I’ve been in a lot of squads in the past year or two. I know if I play to my ability for the rest of the season I will have a good chance.”