'Neville Is Ultimate Leader'

Tim Howard hails Neville as 'shining example'.

Tim Howard believes Phil Neville is the ultimate leader and a shining example for his Everton teammates to follow.
 
Neville's distinguished career encountered its latest landmark on Sunday when he made his 300th Everton appearance at Manchester United, a club he served 389 times prior to his 2005 switch to Goodison Park.
 
The only current Premier League player to have amassed 300 games for two different clubs, Neville remains an integral part of David Moyes' side and has racked up 22 outings so far this term.
 
"Any time a true professional and a leader can get a landmark appearance like that it's special and I certainly applaud him and look to him for advice," Howard told evertontv. "I think you always respect your captain and you look to him, ultimately for leadership day in and day out and not just during 300 appearances, which is a fantastic achievement.
 
"He's a guy who's comes in every day, who comes to work with his lunch pail and hard hat and gets things done. That's what a leader does, he shows up every day and he let's everyone know he's right on top of things. It's fantastic."
 
Despite a disappointing 2-0 reverse at Old Trafford, Howard believes Everton will be raring to go when attention turns to the FA Cup this weekend.
 
Victory at League One Oldham would put the Blues just 90 minutes from Wembley and the American understands just how important another stellar cup run could be.
 
"That's got to be our strength - continuing to get through in the cup," he said. "As we know, the last couple of years having had good cup runs and two out of the last four years ending up at Wembley, we know it can make us feel. Even on the back of a loss now, we go to Oldham, get a result, get through in the cup it will make everyone feel better going into the next league match which is at Norwich."