Jordan Pickford reiterated that Everton have to improve next season after surviving relegation from the Premier League for the second straight year.
The battle to beat the drop went to the final day of the campaign as Leeds United, Leicester City and the Blues were all looking to maintain their top-flight status for the 2023-24 season.
Abdoulaye Doucoure's second-half strike was enough to keep Everton afloat as Sean Dyche achieved what he set out to do when he was installed as Frank Lampard's successor in January. But it needed a superb late save from Pickford to ensures the Blues edged out Bournemouth 1-0.
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"It’s been a grind, the game. I just feel we spoke earlier about mentality before the game and I think we gave that in the first half - our attitude and dedication was there, and mentality," the England No.1 told Sky Sports.
"We just needed to add that quality - that 10 per cent more - and Douc finds a strike, I don’t know where from, but it’s a great strike and to see it over the line is massive for the club, for the staff, for us as players and for the fans.
"We work all week, every week and we don’t take anything lightly, we give our all to put in performances and sometimes it doesn’t pay off, but we know if we give our all we can be proud of what we do."
"The mentality side of it, we’ve just got to keep going. It was in our hands, it was always going to be in our hands today," Pickford continued. "It was ours to lose it and it’s a bit heart in your mouth moments being in this position, but you learn a great deal from this and we’ve got to be proud of ourselves. But, it can’t be like this every season, we’ve got to find a solution and hopefully this is the start of it."
With the uncertainty clearing over Goodison Park, focus is now certain to turn to ownership issues and possible investment into the club.
And Pickford added: "It’s a massive club, the new stadium’s coming out soon too and there’s big opportunities there. It’s just about everything coming together nicely and hopefully pushing forward over the next couple of years."
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