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Jordan Pickford has opened up on his Sunderland debut, boyhood memories and the reasons behind his exit
Below, Pickford speaks candidly about his time at Sunderland, his Premier League debut, that unforgettable atmosphere at the Stadium of Light, and his ongoing ambitions with Everton and England
Sunderland roots and early memories
Q: Sunderland – huge for you. Just take us back to those times and what life was like back then, eight years ago.
Pickford: “Incredible. I used to love it. Having the opportunity to play for your own club and being at an academy since I was eight years old, and getting into the first team and getting the number one shirt and playing that season was a great memory. But it was a lot of hard work and sacrifice beforehand, and none of them times were great.
Premier League home debut against Everton
Q: It’s crazy to think that your Premier League home debut was actually against Everton and how things kind of worked out.
Pickford: “Yeah, I remember it. I think I made a good save from Lukaku early doors from a header. But they beat us 3–0 on the night, so it wasn’t an ideal home debut. But I was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in a football match.”
Q: Why was that?
Pickford: “Because it was my home debut at Sunderland, at the Stadium of Light. It was a big occasion for me. Going there as a fan for years and watching and supporting in the South West Corner, which was a crazy corner back then, where my season ticket was. That was me growing up as a lad. I always remember going, walking through The Bridges, over the bridge, just being a fan.”
Leaving Sunderland and moving to Everton
Q: You look back now and think you left Sunderland, came to Everton – but in a way, it’s gone full circle because you’re going back as England’s number one, aren’t you?
Pickford: “Unfortunately, yeah. We got relegated, and it was tough. We knew Everton came up to go and have the chance to come here and show how good I am. It was a great move for me. We also knew that the 2018 World Cup was around the corner, and it was the opportunity to become England’s number one. Everton put me on that platform. I had to perform week in, week out, and it gave me my dream goal.”
Watching Sunderland’s recent rise
Q: So what do you make of Sunderland now? Times have changed a lot since then.
Pickford: “I think they give him some credit for that, Arlo (Pickford’s son)! I think that was his first game at the stadium that night. It was a bit of a rollercoaster for me, never mind him. Being up there, the atmosphere, their memories – I’m over the moon I went just to live that memory of my son.
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“Going to that atmosphere and that raw emotion and rollercoaster of the game. And for Dan Ballard to score with his shoulder in the last kick of the game – the atmosphere for about 30 minutes after, still in the stadium, was sensational. But for them to get back in the Premier League, going 1–0 down, to watch that game – for them being in the Premier League is amazing.”
Q: You couldn’t go to the play-off final, could you?
Pickford: “Obviously not, I still had my job to do. I still had one more game left. We kind of watched the first 60 minutes in here. Then we had to get over to the airport before our flight. Luckily enough, our flight was a little bit delayed, so we could watch the end of it. I was jumping up and down, shall we say.”
Q: I read you said there was no way David Moyes was going to let you go anywhere near that day.
Pickford: “It was more the fact that I wouldn’t have been in a fit state to play on the Sunday! That’s why he wouldn’t have let me go. I’d have still been in London.”
Life at Everton now
Q: Everton’s season so far – how would you assess it?
Pickford: “Very disappointing against Spurs. We wanted a form of delivery as well, but that’s football. Performances don’t always guarantee results. I think we’d like to be a bit better, but we need to bounce back in Sunderland. It’s crucial. It’s about how we can get six points in the next two games.”
Q: What’s David Moyes said about the season?
Pickford: “The targets are high, but I think they’re achievable for the squad we have. We’re driven as a squad of players – we want to finish as high up as we can. The manager’s driving that, we want that, and that’s what the club want too. We’re all striving for the same thing. It’s about putting it all together and performing week in, week out.”
His mentality and goals
Q: Are you a target-setting individual?
Pickford: “No, I’m more of a team player. I just want to win games. If we’ve won 3–2 and I’ve let in two stinkers, I’d rather just win the game than keep a clean sheet. I’ve always been team-oriented – always wanted the best for the team, best for the fans. I want everyone going home happy, because if I’m going home happy, that means everyone else is too.”
Surviving relegation and resilience
Q: I remember Seamus Coleman saying after survival one year, ‘I never want to go through that again.’ And then you had to do it again. How tough is that?
Pickford: “It was quite a regular thing at that point, but now we can move on from it. It shows our mentality, because that’s probably what we were going through – that survival mode. Like the Crystal Palace game, if we didn’t beat Palace, we’d have had to go to Arsenal and win the last game of the season.
You’re going all the way to the wire for your own sake, for the club’s sake, for the fans’ sake. We don’t want to get relegated. Sometimes that’s even harder than going all the way to win a league title because there’s so much more that relies on it.”
The future
Q: You’ve still got plenty to achieve, though, with England and Everton?
Pickford: “Definitely. I’ve still got a lot of future in front of me and a lot of opportunities. It’s about taking them as a team, as a club and as a nation. It’s something I’m striving for – it’s a team sport, and we’re all striving for success.”
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