Baines On Everton & England

Successful January has lifted Blues, says Baines.

Leighton Baines has thanked Fabio Capello for giving him his break with England – but quickly set his sights on impressing his successor.

The Italian stunned English football by tendering his resignation as national team boss on Wednesday with this summer’s European Championships little more than four months away.

Capello led a near-flawless qualifying campaign but walked away from the job this week amid a dispute with FA top brass over their decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy.

All of Baines’ six caps so far came under Capello, while he was a regular squad member throughout qualifying.

And the defender told evertontv: “I am disappointed that Fabio Capello has resigned. He is a good manager and a good man. I will always be grateful to him for making me a part of the international set-up and I obviously wish him well with whatever he decides to do in the future.

“But when you’re a footballer you often find that managers move on and as professionals we just have to concentrate on the playing side. Nobody is certain of a place in the England squad, regardless of who picks the team, so for me I’ll just do what I’ve always done and work as hard as I can for Everton and see what happens.”

Indeed, Baines’ could not be doing much for a reinvigorated Everton side, and he feels January’s transfer dealings have once again put the Club ‘on the up’.

Landon Donovan’s return and subsequent good form have been integral to an improvement in performances and results, while another new boy, Darron Gibson, smashed the winner as league leaders Man City were swept aside.

The very next game – a draw at Wigan – saw Steven Pienaar make a second debut for the Blues and new striker Nikica Jelavic get his first taste of the action.

Baines is now very much a senior figure at Finch Farm and he says that the early stages of 2012 have instilled a tangible sense of optimism within the squad.

“I think (January’s transfer dealings) lifted everyone associated with the Club,” he told evertontv. “It certainly did from what we see within the Club, it gave everyone a boost.

“It was massive, in particular, what that 24 hours did for us with the two new lads coming in and the win over Manchester City – of course we had signed a couple of lads before that as well – so it was a productive period for the Club and we certainly feel as though we are on the up again.

“We needed it and it does lift people,” he added. “It is hard to articulate exactly why that is at times but to get the new bodies in really helped. The training on the Friday before Wigan was the first time we had all trained together and the whole session went up a notch or two.”

Aside from the new signings, FA Cup progress at the expense of Fulham and a league win over City were certainly instrumental in putting smiles back on faces.

Baines was quick to dedicate those successes to the supporters, who have had to endure some under-par displays at Goodison this term.

And now, with the Chelsea clash swiftly followed by another big cup tie – a last-16 showdown with Blackpool - Baines is adamant it is time for the Blues to seize the initiative and transform the complexion of their 2011/12 campaign.

“Our home form has not been good enough and we knew that,” he added. “It was nice to get a couple of wins and they were important ones as well with a big cup win and then beating City. It was what the fans deserved really. Things have not been great this season so it was nice to win that one for them and it is important we keep the momentum going. We want to win all our home games and we will be going out to do it again on Saturday.

“We know we have to work hard and pick our form up. Hopefully that will be the case as we do feel as if we are on an upward curve now.”

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