MEDIA WATCH

What The Papers Say - 3 January

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton. 

Quotes from Ben Godfrey's evertontv interview feature in the back pages of Tuesday's edition of the Liverpool ECHO.

The Blues defender discusses his rehabilitation from a fractured fibula suffered against Chelsea back in August, as well as his belief in the quality and togetherness of the squad to climb the Premier League table.

Elsewhere in the local read, former Everton left-back Michael Ball uses his column to reflect on the battling draw at the home of reigning champions Manchester City and says Frank Lampard's players shows exactly what supporters would have wanted.

He writes: "As an ex-player, I have thought a lot about how I would have approached the game during my career. When you are going up against the best team in the league you have got to show a bit of pride in your performance, have belief and have confidence in your own ability. You have to understand you are going to have bad moments but when they happen you have to stop yourself from panicking and you must not go off script - which you can easily end up doing by trying too hard. I thought Everton's success came from sticking to the job at hand, helping each other out and still trying to get forward when they could - which they had several chances to do beyond the attack for Demarai Gray's goal.

"We drew against the champions and, if we had had a little more composure in certain moments, we may have nicked all three points. Frank Lampard and the lads will be disappointed with the goal they conceded but after the goal, the players deserve real credit because they stuck to their plans and did what Everton fans want them to do - show pride in wearing the shirt."

Finally, Middle Eastern outlet, Dean of Sports, reports Abu Dhabi-based outfit Al Ain FC are interested in signing Toffees midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Mali international Doucoure has also been linked with moves to Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Juventus in recent weeks.