Jordan Pickford believes his impressive form stems from the "grafting" he is doing at Finch Farm.
The Everton goalkeeper produced another fine display against Fulham to help his side clinch a useful point at Craven Cottage. It was a game in which the Blues had to fight for the draw, the defence showing resilience as the hosts sought a winner.
But despite Fulham mustering 24 shots on goal they rarely looked liked like scoring. When they did, Pickford's heroics prevented them from doing so, his first half saves from Willian and Aleksandar Mitrovic the most impressive.
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It was the latest important display from the England number one, whose stops were crucial to Everton's Premier League survival and whose form has continued into this season. Pickford told Talksport after the game he felt - like many - Saturday evening's game would have been one the Everton of last season would probably have lost.
He praised Conor Coady and James Tarkowski for their resolute displays and, of his own form, said: "I feel good, I work hard every day on the football pitch and when I put in a performance like that it shows that I am grafting, grafting behind the scenes to be the best Jordan Pickford and I feel like I am showing that. Clean sheets are always good for the team, it gives a base to work off for the lads to go and show their ability to get the goals."
After the game Frank Lampard heaped praise on the 28-year-old for his maturity and performances. He said: "When you speak with people around the training ground and Everton I think there is a real sense of Jordan taking on board maturity. He's a leader in the group without a doubt. I think there is a calmness in his game. I didn't know him before [I arrived at Everton] and now I have worked with him I see there is a calmness and a confidence in himself and that means he can affect other people around him positively, which is a huge plus as a goalkeeper. I think fair play to Jordan, he's still relatively young as a goalkeeper so I think it's a big plus and at the minute he is very, very complete in terms of his game."
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