Sam Allardyce jumps to defence of under-fire Everton star
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has come under plenty of criticism recently for his form and his comments on the scrutiny he comes under.
He’s brought a lot of this on himself, of course, but that won’t stop him feeling frustrated with the reception his remarks received.
If you missed it, the 25-year-old claimed that he gets fiercer criticism than other players because he’s an England international and people like to put down the Three Lions representatives.
Whether you agree with what he said or not, the fact is that he’s simply opened himself up to more scrutiny by drawing further attention on him.
However, former Toffees boss Sam Allardyce vociferously came to his former charge’s defence on Tuesday.
“The beauty for him, and why he’s such a good goalkeeper and why people play at this level, is their mental strength and their ability to make the right decisions quicker than players who play in the Championship or don’t play for England,” he said on talkSPORT.
“That’s the difference, and he has got that mental agility and that mental toughness to stay where he is.
“What you have to do is, because he’s come [along] at such a young age, to dedicate yourself and not relax and think ‘I’ve made it now’.”
Is Allardyce right to back Pickford to get better?
I mean, it makes a nice change at the moment. It seems like Pickford is coming under all sorts of fire.
Much of that is deserved, of course, because his comments were largely ridiculous, but still it’s nice to see ‘Big Sam’ back him.
He’s right that Pickford needs to keep trying to improve, even if that’s rather obvious. However, the other stuff he said was a bit off.
If Pickford has this amazing mental agility and mental toughness then why does he continue to make high profile errors?
In other Everton news, a former Premier League striker has been left frustrated by an injury blow.