Gary Stevens says he is “honoured” to be named an Everton Giant and was “overawed” by a public tribute from Chairman Bill Kenwright.

Former Blues right-back Stevens was chosen by the Club, along with Pat Van den Hauwe, to receive the accolade for 2020 and joins a select group of Giants including Dixie Dean, Colin Harvey, Howard Kendall and Neville Southall.

The Everton honour represented a substantial boost for Stevens and his family during a very difficult 2020.

Stevens received the crushing news in May this year that his young son, Jack, was suffering from juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a rare cancer of the blood that affects young children.

Three-year-old Jack underwent stem cell treatment this month, when older sibling Oliver’s healthy stem cells were transplanted into his brother’s bloodstream.

Stevens – “an immaculate right-back… an Everton great,” in Mr Kenwright’s view – played 293 games for Everton after advancing through the Club’s youth system.

He won two league titles, in 1985 and 1987, in addition to the 1984 FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup 12 months later.

“Individual awards mean a lot and if people in and around Everton Football Club feel I am worthy enough to be an Everton Giant, that’s fantastic,” Stevens told evertonfc.com.

“This has been a difficult year for a lot of people and it’s been more than difficult for me and my family, so it’s lovely to get some good news.

“I’m absolutely honoured to join the ranks of Everton greats. Going through the names like Dixie Dean and Alex Young, it’s very sobering that the Club is heaping this award on to me.

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“The Club is fantastic and the Everton family is just awesome.

“I was overawed when I heard the Chairman’s tribute. It’s 22 years since I retired as a player and even longer since I left Everton and to be thought of so highly by someone like Mr Kenwright is wonderful.”

Stevens, who lives in Perth, Western Australia, shared a good deal of his Goodison Park success with fellow full-back Van den Hauwe, who came to Everton from Birmingham City in 1984.

The pair were reunited last year for the premiere of the film Howard’s Way, which charts Everton’s emergence as one of European football’s major forces in the mid-1980s.

Howard Kendall’s side is universally cherished by Evertonians of that era, among them Mr Kenwright, who added: “As everyone at Everton knows, Gary has had tragedy in his life recently, his young son Jack… is fighting for ways of beating the illness.

“It is a big battle for him and the family.

“We Evertonians, especially those who worshipped that [mid-1980s] side, send him our absolute respect and best regards.”

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The early prognosis following Jack’s stem cell treatment appears positive.

Stevens – who admitted being recognised at the same time as Van den Hauwe was particularly special – stressed that although there is still a long way to go for Jack, the support of Evertonians has been a source of great comfort.

“If best wishes were medicine, he would be absolutely fine,” said Stevens.

“I feel the love and support here and internationally.

“At the moment, after the stem cell transplant, he is going well.

"I’d like to be optimistic.

"A good way to put it is that we would have given anything four months ago to be where we are now but we’ve still got a long road ahead of us.”

Stevens added: “Pat and I shared rooms and we know each other pretty well, even though, before last year, we’d not been in each other’s company for a good many years.

"I love Pat, he has a heart of gold and to have this honour at the same time as him, I’m delighted.”