THAT’S YOU DO IT
Keane fired up by Kendall glory
MICHAEL KEANE has been working his way through many TV shows during the lockdown, just like the rest of the country.
It has been a pretty standard list for those stuck indoors: The Last Dance, Ozark and Gangs of London. But one documentary has particularly inspired him. As it should.
Howard’s Way looks back at Everton’s glory years in the 1980s when they rose to be the best team in the land under managerial legend Howard Kendall.
They won two league titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the club’s most successful period.
Toffees fans can only dream of returning to such success but for Keane, soaking up those memories has only inspired him to end their 25-year wait for silverware.
The centre-back said: “From the start, when Z Cars comes on, you get goosebumps. Then you are learning about the history and what that team was like.
“It makes you want to emulate that with our current team. There is no reason why we can’t.
“We have a top manager now. We will hopeful in the next year or two years, or however long it may take, bring a few more trophies to the club.”
That world-class manager is Carlo Ancelotti, and the early signs under the Italian have been positive since he replaced Marco Silva in December.
Keane, 27, said: “Just before he came we were like the fans when he was first linked. It was a bit of a shock. You are really excited and hopeful someone of that calibre will become your manager.
“He has won it all. He has worked with some of the best players to have ever played.”
But while Everton have been on the up, it has not been all positive for Keane. The former Burnley defender has had to contend with being out of the team more than he has been in it under Ancelotti.
The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich boss has preferred Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate in the centre of his back four, but Keane got his chance just before football was halted.
“Every time you’re on the pitch you have to show you’re worthy of it,” said the England international. “It gives you motivation to perform.”
Keane may have struggled with being left out a few years ago. He opened up on the mental health ordeal he went through as he battled injury in his early days at Goodison Park in 2017 after a £25m move from the Clarets.
But dealing with that and the sacking of two managers has left him more capable of handling the ups and downs of the game.
He said: “It’s all a learning curve. You have to take the positives from everything that has happened. I feel my best is yet to come.”
And there is still a chance we can get to see some of it this season.
While many on the red half of Merseyside would believe the Blues were desperate for the season to be declared null and void, Keane has a different view.
He said: “We have to chase Europe and get as high up in the table as possible. That has been in our sights since before lockdown.”
■ HOWARD’S WAY tells the story of Howard Kendall’s trophy-winning team in the 1980s. All proceeds from the film go to The People’s Place, Everton in the Community’s mental health facility.