Everton may have achieved their goal of Premier League survival – but Jarrad Branthwaite says he and the team remain motivated to finish the season strongly.

Ahead of Saturday's home fixture against Sheffield United (3pm BST) – the Toffees’ penultimate outing of the campaign – only Jordan Pickford (3,240) and James Tarkowski (3,239) have played more Premier League minutes for Everton this season than Branthwaite (2,936).

It’s been an outstanding term for the centre-back, who had previously made just six Premier League starts in total. Now a regular under Sean Dyche, he reflected on a year of impressive development.

“I think at the start of the season, [I wanted] just to get in the team and get an opportunity,” he told evertontv. “The manager gave me that, and then it was up to me to stay in the team and give performances, and I’ve done that with help from my teammates.

“We’ve got a good defensive outcome, a lot of clean sheets. That’s not just the defence, but the whole team which has helped out. It’s been a positive season for me.

“I just need to keep playing games, keep training hard, and keep going.”

The promising defender exudes composure, and at 6ft 5in, he carries a dominant physical presence. Added to that, his defensive work has been among the finest in the division, ranking seventh in the league for interceptions (50), 12^th for aerial duels won (90) and 18^th for aerial-duel success rate (68.2 per cent).

In March, the 21-year-old’s displays were recognised by Gareth Southgate, who handed Branthwaite his first senior England call-up.

A second inclusion remains a target for the defender, striving for a place in the Three Lions’ squad at this summer’s European Championships.

“That’s the main aim for me – to go to the Euros,” he explained. “I think the only way you can do that is put positive performances in for Everton and play well for your club and keep putting performances in which catch [Southgate’s] eye."

Such motivation may have inspired his exceptional individual display last time out at Luton Town on Friday evening, when he put his body on the line in the 98^th minute to block a potential winner from Andros Townsend.

Everton are unbeaten in their past four Premier League games, and Branthwaite insists he and his Toffees teammates are determined to see out the season in a positive manner.

It’s a claim evidenced by that committed showing at Kenilworth Road, and Branthwaite, reflecting on the draw, added: “We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re obviously fighting for their lives, fighting for survival.

"We came down here with the objective of winning the game, and I think that’s what we’re going to do from now until the end of the season.

“It shows how far we’ve come since previous results. In the past couple of months, we went on a difficult run, but now, we’ve started to bounce back.

“It’s difficult. You maybe rest a little bit, and you think you’re over the line, which we are, but the mentality is to keep going, to keep enjoying winning or getting results. We have to do that from now until the end of the season and go into the summer with a positive mindset.”