DON’T PIN BLAME ON PICKFORD, SAYS SILVA

MARCO SILVA insists Jordan Pickford should not be made the scapegoat for Everton’s capitulation against Tottenham. Everton’s form has suffered since Pickford made a lastminute error in the Merseyside derby on December 2. They have since taken only two points from a possible 15 and matters reached a nadir on Sunday when Tottenham beat them 6-2 — aided by a mistake from Pickford when he collided with his own defender Kurt Zouma, which enabled Son Heung-min to equalise. Silva believes responsibility must be shared for what has happened, saying: ‘I don’t want to individualise it just with Jordan. I understand it was key moment in the match against Tottenham. But it’s not just because we made a mistake, or one of our players made a mistake. Everything cannot change like it did in the match — you have to show personality. ‘We have to change the situation as a team not just with one or two players. It was a bad afternoon for us as a team.’