Everton keeper Jordan Pickford credits psychologist role in his relegation battle heroics
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford has credited the involvement of a psychologist in developing his “maturity” for a star role in the relegation battle.
The England number one produced two saves for the ages to defeat Chelsea (1 May) last time out, and has been a key figure for a struggling team all season.
Ahead of the crucial Sunday (8 May) trip to Leicester the 28-year-old believes that the mental work he has done off the pitch has contributed to an ability to harness his emotion.
He told The Times: “I think sometimes people don’t know who they are until they take a step back and think about what they’ve done.
“The psychologist part definitely worked for me. I know for my maturity, it’s definitely upped my game.
“I know I like to be revved up but it is about keeping that emotion with a level head. I want to be Jordan Pickford, but I want to be a calm figure which I feel I have been for the last 18 months.”
Fortitude
The psychological aspect of any player’s performance is often overlooked from the outside but plays a key role.
Pickford is well known as a demonstrative figure, and attracts a lot of criticism as a result.
But despite what has been largely a dismal season at Goodison, it hardly bears thinking about what it would have been like without a big presence in goal.
It’s unlucky for the former Sunderland man that the improvements he feels have come in his temperament have coincided with a huge downturn for his club’s overall fortunes.
The fruits of his labour have been more evident on the international stage after a run to the Euro 2020 final in the summer.
But if Frank Lampard’s side are going to avoid the devastation of dropping out of the top tier it is going to rest in a big way on the performances this year of the keeper.
He deserves credit for working on that side of himself and is sure to have needed it over a testing campaign.
In other Everton news, Paul Merson has labelled him as “world-class” and stuck up for him against “unfair” criticism.
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