Jordan Pickford praised the collective graft throughout the Everton side after the Blues recorded their fifth clean sheet on the spin at Goodison in a 2-0 success against Burnley.
A deflected Richarlison strike and Seamus Coleman’s header in the opening 20 minutes saw the Toffees wrap up their 2018-19 home campaign in style to move up to eighth in the Premier League table, one point behind Wolves who have a game in hand.
The victory was Everton’s fourth in a row at the Grand Old Lady following victories over Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United as Marco Silva’s team continued their impressive end to the season.
The Blues have now gone more than 450 minutes without conceding on home soil, an achievement Pickford insists is testament to the hard work being put in by every player in a blue shirt.
“It was a great start to the game for us, the manager focussed us on keeping another clean sheet and we know we’ve got quality going forward,” said the England No.1. “The first 25 minutes we were on our game. We would have liked to have scored more but 2-0 in the final home game of the season, it was a great performance.
“It just shows the hard work we put in as a group of lads. Our mentality going on to the pitch is to keep a clean sheet. From Dominic [Calvert-Lewin] up top – he has been playing really well – it starts with him pressing high which gets the crowd going and then we’ve got to do our job at the back.”
🗣 | We're leaving the last word on tonight's home win to the manager. #EFC 🔵
🔊 Sound 🔛 for Marco's message! pic.twitter.com/8jJ3AXcH2T— Everton (@Everton) May 3, 2019
Everton’s unbeaten home run and defensive mean streak goes back to the 0-0 Merseyside derby draw on 3 March, a game which also saw the popular siren played ahead of Z-Cars before kick-off.
Pickford admits the electric Goodison atmosphere in recent weeks has played its part in helping to lift the Everton team on the way to their rock-solid form, as they look to end their campaign with victory at Spurs next Sunday.
Asked about the turning point in their season, the keeper said: “The Liverpool game. The siren helped and the fans have been terrific but we know it’s down to us to work hard and show grit and determination for them. As soon as we’re doing that the fans are quality. We thrive on the fans.
“[Seventh place] is out of our hands but all we can do is keep winning games, finish strong and go to Spurs now and look to win again.”