Jordan Pickford says Everton's work to improve will continue relentlessly in a bid to build further momentum when Aston Villa travel to Goodison Park next weekend.
Pickford recorded a second successive clean sheet on home soil in the 1-0 victory over Leeds United on Saturday, as Sean Dyche's 100-per-cent home record as Blues boss continued.
England's first-choice goalkeeper was full of praise for his defence following another important win and he has now called on his teammates to continue harnessing the Goodison atmosphere to their advantage.
“It’s always good to get a win," Pickford told evertonfc.com. "It was a pretty quiet day for me today, but I’m pleased with the clean sheet.
“I think everyone’s working hard to get a game after the refresh of the new manager. He’s big on keeping clean sheets and being hard to break down.
“The wingers have to defend and help the full-backs, and the defenders have to be strong, too.
“When Goodison’s rocking, it’s a special place to be.
"Of course, we'd rather have got that second goal to ease the pressure and see the game out, but, yes, 1-0 and a clean sheet. It's a great result.”
Pickford also paid tribute to Seamus Coleman, whose stunning 64th-minute strike earned all three points against the West Yorkshire side.
The Everton skipper charged down the right channel before unleashing a perfectly-placed strike from an acute angle to catch out Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Of course he meant it! 🤩
— Everton (@Everton) February 18, 2023
"It was a good cross, wasn’t it?!' joked Pickford. "He told us in the changing rooms he definitely meant it and it's a brilliant strike.
"The lads are buzzing for him and it was an important one for us."
Discussing life under new boss Dyche, Pickford added: “It’s been a refresh. Back to basics, in some respects, and it’s important we're defending our goal well and being hard to beat.
“We need to keep building our form now.
"We’ve been working extremely hard on the training pitch and that will continue because we want more.
"Aston Villa are a good side, but we'll put the work in and we'll be ready for the challenge.”
