Garner's Message To Evertonians

I’d like to start by thanking Evertonians and my teammates for voting me Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season at our recent awards.

I’m really happy to the recognition I had, not only from the lads but the fans as well. I'm really grateful.

I think at the start of the season, I knew I had to have a good campaign. I’d been here for three years, had a few injuries, and I just felt it was my time to really step up. Last summer, I told myself I needed to come back in shape and hungry and that's exactly what I did. I hit the ground running and I'm glad the form continued.

It was nice for me to hear the manager recognise me as a potential leader in the squad. Although I’m not a man of many words, when it comes to needing to say something, I’ll definitely say it. I’m not shy in that regard.

I think my leadership comes a bit different. You’ve got Seamus who is very, very good at talking and communicating. That’s not the case so much with me but I think I lead in terms of how I train every day and the examples I set. I want the lads to follow that and to give 100 per cent every single day. That’s all our fans want – to give the best account of yourself – so I hope I’m leading in the right way.

In terms of the season as a whole, we know we let ourselves down in the final few games. We were all disappointed but the fact we were challenging for Europe right until the final few weeks shows the progress we made. I believe that one thousand per cent.

This season has been miles better than the past few years. We were right in the mix for Europe in the closing stages and, if you said that to us at the start of the season, we would have snapped your hand off. Of course, a club like Everton should always be challenging for Europe – we all know that – but in the context of where we had been in recent years, it’s been much better.

It didn’t go to plan in the final few weeks but we have to take the positives, and the aim now is to continue the progress and do even better next season.

My targets are exactly the same. Individually, I want to keep my levels up and maintain my consistency. I was obviously delighted to make my senior England debut. Getting a taste of it for the first time was a dream come true for me and, while I was naturally disappointed not to be going to the World Cup, I’ll keep going and it’s only going to motivate me more.

As for the team, our target is definitely to qualify for Europe. It was within our reach this season and we know we can be better next season and make it happen.

Thanks again for all your support. Have a good summer and I’ll see you all next season.

Up the Toffees!

Jimmy