Jordan Pickford has insisted that he is more “calm and mature” after having had a heart-to-heart with Marco Silva.
The England international goalkeeper has garnered a reputation as a player who often gets caught up in the moment and can lose his head if pressure is high.
Last season Pickford was notably rocked when Everton faced Newcastle at St James’ Park, as the Sunderland fan and former Black Cats player let the Magpies fan base get into his head.
Everton were 2-0 up against Newcastle at half-time, eventually going on to lose 3-2 to Rafa Benitez’ men, the first time since 1975 that they’d lost after being 2-0 up at the interval.
However Pickford now admits to being much calmer, although he also claims he won’t stop shouting as he attempts to be a leader at the back.
As reported by Mirror Sport, Pickford had this to say on his conversation with Silva:
The maturity side has always been there. You get more mature with the more games you play. With the calmness it’s more about playing out from the back with my distribution and game-management.
I’ve always said that you learn most when you go out on loan when you are a young player.
Calmness I’ve definitely thought about a lot, being more calm, but I’ll still be doing all my shouting about because I try to be a leader from the back and for me.
You are sometimes further away from players but you still get the shouting because I want to help the team as much as I can.
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It is certainly interesting to hear Pickford say he’s calmed down, less than a week after charging the length of the pitch against Lincoln to grab someone by the scruff of their collar…
In all seriousness, it’s majorly positive to hear that Pickford is taking steps to improving his mentality. It’s all well and good that he has impressive ability and potential, but his attitude has to be right, and any attempt to screw his head on properly is welcomed.
It’s so important that Everton have the right characters in the dressing room, with more professionalism and emotional control likely to help the club achieve their elite ambitions. If Silva is able to help his players improve on an emotional level, as well as on the field, then the club are better off for it.
