‘I hate conceding goals, but I try not to beat myself up too much’
Everton’s Jordan Pickford will not let criticism and setbacks dent his selfbelief, writes Mike Whalley
Jordan Pickford will not be satisfied until he is on top of the world. Yet Everton’s goalkeeper is fully aware that getting there is as much a question of mental strength as it is ability. Pickford’s profile has risen considerably over the past 12 months, and he is already having to get used to the extra scrutiny which that entails. Increased fame brings the likelihood of increased criticism, as the 24-yearold has discovered over the past week.
The good news for Everton, and for England, is that he shows every sign of having the mental strength to cope. In a room at his club’s training ground, Pickford is discussing the qualities needed to become world-class. The conversation moves on to David de Gea, described last week as the Lionel Messi of goalkeepers by Watford’s Ben Foster. As far as Pickford is concerned, the Manchester United man has set the standard to aspire to.
“De Gea is probably the best in the world right now,” Pickford said. “As a goalkeeper you want to be the best, but you can only get better by playing games, making saves and putting in man-of-the-match performances.
“Manuel Neuer is up there as well, but he was out injured for most of last season, so it opened up for De Gea to get to that status.” Pickford appears to have no problem handling pressure; he went to the World Cup having never played a senior competitive international, yet returned from Russia as his country’s first-choice goalkeeper. However, the path since has not been entirely smooth; Everton go to Arsenal today having won just one of their first five league matches, and with Pickford under scrutiny after making a mistake during last Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat by West Ham.
The goalkeeper was culpable for a poor kick that allowed Mark Noble to set up Andriy Yarmolenko for the visitors’ second goal. Pickford, while acknowledging the error, has stressed the importance of not dwelling on it. “I am mentally strong,” he said. “The important thing is to react well to your mistakes. If the next thing you do in that game is something good, that’s OK. I don’t put pressure on myself. I hate making mistakes and I hate conceding goals, but I try not to beat myself up too much.
“I was fuming at the pass I made in the West Ham game but I think the lad showed great skill when he picked it up and it was a good finish. All you can do is hold your hands up and say, ‘Sorry lads.’ It’s all part of learning.”
It has been a good 12 months for the goalkeeper. As England reached their first World Cup semi-final since 1990, his high point was against Colombia in the last 16. His penalty shoot-out save from Carlos Bacca was key to victory, although he was more proud of the spectacular stop from Mateus Uribe, seconds before Yerry Mina equalised to take the match to extra time.
The goalkeeper, speaking after taking part in a coaching session with Everton’s community charity this week, faced plenty of scrutiny even as he enjoyed his World Cup adventure, though not all of it football-related.
While he was criticised by Thibaut Courtois for being “too short” to stop Adnan Januzaj’s goal for Belgium in the group stages, he also found himself the subject of light-hearted mockery as some social media posts from his teens resurfaced. Complaints about his parents not allowing him to have Sky Sports in his bedroom, coupled with posts about The X Factor and visits to Nando’s, painted a picture of an ordinary teenager – and Pickford can laugh about them now. “All that is part of growing up, I suppose. I’m still the same person. My mam and dad have brought me up well. I have got Sky in my bedroom now, though.”
Jordan Pickford took part in a coaching session with Everton in the Community’s pan-disability football team this week. For more information, visit www. evertonfc.com/community