READY FOR A TRIP: Dunk is fired up Seagulls are ready to take Europe flight next season

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Steven Gerrard, the Villa manager at the time, is said to have paid a visit to Tarkowski’s Cheshire home to try and entice the centreback after leaving relegated Burnley on a free transfer.

In the end the England international joined Everton – and he has no regrets even if Villa are chasing Europe and Burnley have fast-tracked back to the big time under Vincent Kompany.

Despite Everton’s serious plight, the defender, 30, isn’t looking back. He said: “My focus is completely on Everton and I don’t regret joining this club. “My time at Burnley was up if they stayed up or were relegated. I signed here hoping we can go the other way and I am sure over the next few years we can do that.

“We’ve seen in past history what this club could be with the fans. But it’s about the battle we’re in right now and we are focused on the short-term goal of staying in the league.

“Fair play to Burnley, the work the manager has done there is incredible and I’m pleased for them all.

“I went back recently just after they got promoted. The chairman invited me down ages ago and I hadn’t been able to find the right time to go. Relegation definitely

■ hasn’t been the end of the world for them, that’s for sure.

“But it’s not something that we want to happen. Hopefully we can stay up because it would be nice to go back to Turf Moor next season.”

As if that’s not incentive enough, Tarkowski and the rest of the dressing room have the extra motivation of ensuring Everton’s survival for captain Seamus Coleman.

The Goodison skipper suffered a nasty injury in the 2-2 draw at Leicester and looks set to miss the rest of the campaign.

And that has reverberated through the club.

He said: “Seamus is such a good leader and captain, he’s a great talker in the dressing room, so he’ll be a big miss.

“That puts a bit more demand on the other lads to start talking and taking that ownership.

“When he speaks everyone listens and his love for this club is unrivalled. I have never seen a player love a club as much as Seamus loves Everton.”

As he was carried off on a stretcher Coleman ignored the pain to urge on the fans.

“That tells you everything about Seamus. When I first turned to see it, I thought he was shouting at the lad who tackled him,” added Tarkowski.

“I haven’t seen that before, but it just epitomises what Seamus is like and his love for Everton.”

With the pressure biting, Tarkowski says “super calm” boss Sean Dyche is leading from the front.

He added: “He’s been in this position before so there’s definitely no panic which is good for us because we don’t want to feel we’re fighting for our lives every day.

“Obviously when the games come we have to feel like that but day to day we need to keep calm.

“We have four difficult games starting with Brighton on Monday. The fans have stuck with us but now we need to give them something back.”