Seamus Coleman speaks out on manager David Moyes and his special relationship with the Everton fanbase in a new official souvenir magazine
Captain Seamus Coleman believes Everton now have a manager who cares as much about the club as he does following David Moyes’ return, as he explains that unless you’re a Blue, you won’t ever understand what the team mean to their fanbase.
Speaking in a new glossy, 116-page official souvenir ‘Tribute to a Legend’ produced in-house by the club, Coleman hailed the second coming of the Glaswegian gaffer who first brought him to Goodison Park for his fabled ‘sixty grand’ bargain fee in 2009.
The 37-year-old said: “Like every one of our passionate fans, I’ve lived and breathed what has been a difficult past few years for the club. I put my heart and soul into doing all I could to help us get through it.
“Thanks to the hard work of many people, we’ve been able to get into our magnificent new stadium and pave the way for a brighter future under ambitious new owners, which I want to be part of.
“In David Moyes, we have the perfect manager to lead us into a new era. He showed his abilities once again with the way he had us playing after returning last season.
“As the man who brought me to Everton, I can’t speak highly enough of him. He gets this football club, the standards required every day, and what it means to play for Everton.
“Yeah, he’s changed, or I’ve changed – maybe we’ve both changed? But he is the manager that I respect so much.
“He was a tough operator, and he’s moved on. I’ve stayed and he’s come back and he’s mellowed, but he’s still the boss – and believe me when he needs to show he’s still the boss he does! But it’s great to have him back.
“He has helped stabilise the club since his return and we have a manager now who cares about Everton as much as I do.”
The cover of Seamus Coleman: Tribute To A Legend official souvenir that is on sale now priced £10
The cover of Seamus Coleman: Tribute To A Legend official souvenir that is on sale now priced £10
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Coleman, who has now played in a club record 372 Premier League games for Everton, currently sits in joint 10th position in the Blues’ all-time appearance chart in all competitions, in a three-way tie with the legendary Dixie Dean, their leading goalscorer, and Leon Osman, with the trio each having turned out 433 times. When it comes to his relationship with the Evertonians, the man from Killybegs, County Donegal, who unlike many who ply their trade at either Hill Dickinson Stadium or Anfield, lives in the city, insists it’s a two-way love affair.
He said: “It’s very difficult to sum it up quickly because it means everything to me. It’s been 15 years of my life.
“I’ve said many times that it’s family and football for me – that’s all I have in my life.
“It’s amazing, but it can be tough as well. Obviously, the last few years you live and breathe everything that’s going on and you don’t get away from it, so it’s changed my life and it’s changed my family’s life.
“I’m so grateful for this football club and I’ll always be very fortunate and very grateful that I’ve played a part in the history of this football club by playing as many times as I have.
“It’s an amazing, amazing football club and unless you’re inside it on a daily basis, unless you’re part of the fanbase, unless you see the people on the street, you don’t or won’t ever understand what it really means to the people.
“I think if I’d lived anywhere else bar Liverpool for the last 15 years maybe I wouldn’t have had the same connection that I have had with this football club, because on a daily basis I see what the football club means to the people on the street.
“That’s something that we don’t forget either. It’s why I think that it’s my duty at times to relay that message to the players, to the players that maybe don’t get it, to make sure that they really understand what this football club means to people.
“I say it all the time, it’s people’s lives. They travel around the country supporting us but it’s when you see them, when you meet them, that you can really tell. The face doesn’t lie, you know, and you can tell how much Everton Football Club means to them through the good times and bad times.
“I’m so grateful that I stayed in the city. I’ve been part of the city and got to witness that and over the years it’s kind of helped me grow into the passionate, loyal Everton player I am today.”