Dominic Calvert-Lewin has addressed critics of his life away from the football pitch and explained the "dark places" he reached while he was out injured for Everton earlier in the campaign.
The striker was on the sidelines for around four months of the campaign between August and January after picking up a quadriceps problem. A few setbacks along the way have meant that the 25-year-old is still finding his way to full sharpness now for his side.
Over the course of his time out of the side, and on a few occasions since his return, Calvert-Lewin has made a few appearances in projects away from the pitch. He appeared as a guest on Monday Night Football in November, and has shown his taste for fashion in various magazine interviews over the course of the campaign.
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From some quarters, those decisions have drawn criticism from supporters. However, the striker has explained his choices and addressed those who believe that he is not focusing on his football whenever he appears elsewhere in his time away from the pitch.
He told Everton's official programme: "People can misinterpret doing stuff outside football as not focusing on your craft. Every choice I make I consider, 'How will this affect my football?'.
"That's been the case since I was a young kid. I have devoted my whole life to football. What people read on social media or see on news outlets is a fraction of my life.
"Nobody knows what I do behind closed doors and how much work I put in. They don't live with me in my house, so they'll never know.
"I devote everything to my craft and improving as a footballer. If anybody focused on what they do for a living, every minute of every day, they would explode.
"I am a human being and it is so important to have different outlets. I would never take anything anyone says to heart. People will always have opinions, but I know what I am about and what I do every day and I take confidence from those things."
Everton have struggled throughout the majority of the campaign, with the character of the side being questioned on multiple occasions. That criticism has also fell on Calvert-Lewin from some quarters, as he still strives for his first goal of the calendar year.
He believes that none of the Blues squad have made the choice to avoid any fight this season. And, he explained that creating a confident and positive attitude is what the squad must do in order to turn around their form.
"People can question your ability or technique or quality as a player. But the biggest disrespect you can receive is when people question your character," the striker added.
"Everyone has a choice, you can choose to stand up and fight or you can choose to fold. We've never intentionally chosen the latter.
"People can't question my character and beliefs and what I bring to the table. Confidence and belief are things we can influence, individually and collectively. And we all have to commit to giving everything to getting us out of this situation.
"Sometimes, when games are not going your way, or the ball is not dropping for you, it might look to the naked eye as if you are not giving your all - but of course you are. Things in football can change quickly, in a positive or negative direction.
"If you buy into the narrative created, what good is that to us inside the building? We have to protect ourselves - and that helps the collective."
Calvert-Lewin is still looking for his best form since his return from injury. Having scored in each of his first three matches of the campaign, the striker is still trying to find the back of the net once more.
He has admitted that he reached some "dark places" during his first long-term injury out of the side, but he now feels physically ready to help his side out of their relegation fight.
The Blues man said: "I think I underestimated how long I'd been out. I expected to be fitter and faster and stronger - I overlooked people had played 20 games, I'd played three and not kicked a ball for four months.
"That was hard to deal with. Even more so with the position we were in. I take great responsibility for helping my teammates and scoring goals and doing everything in my power to affect games.
"It didn't quite happen when I came back. It was my first experience of a long spell out, the biggest battle was the mental one, I found myself in some dark places.
"But I can confidently say I am in a better position, physically, to help and score goals and, most importantly, allow my teammates to rely on me again."
