Seamus Coleman hailed the “amazing” feeling of being back out on the pitch for Everton and revealed his pride at reaching a new milestone for the Club he loves.

The Blues’ skipper made his long-awaited return from a knee injury last month in the dominant 3-0 Premier League win over Newcastle United. However, he picked up a niggle in that contest, forcing him to miss each of Everton’s next five matches in a congested festive schedule. 

Coleman managed 30 minutes from the bench in Saturday’s Premier League contest against Wolves and was named in Sean Dyche’s starting XI for Thursday night’s FA Cup clash at Crystal Palace, where the Blues battled with 10 men to secure a 0-0 draw and subsequent replay to be played at Goodison Park. 

“It’s great to come back,” Coleman admitted to evertontv. “The game against Newcastle was amazing to get back out there. After the Leicester game, it was so important to get back on that pitch. I got [back against Newcastle] and I felt really good in the game. I felt comfortable; I felt like I’d never been away.

“Unfortunately, I got a small niggle, which took some time to settle. The medical team here are different class because they look after you. They don’t just put you out there and they want to make sure things are right.

“I had to be patient and wait for it to get right. It did, and on Thursday night I was back out there, and really enjoyed it. You know I love playing for this football club. I take every day like it’s my last and enjoy every second.”

The game at Selhurst Park represented a landmark moment for Coleman as he featured in a 14th FA Cup campaign for the Toffees - the joint-most for an outfielder in the Club’s history, and level with Jack Taylor’s run between 1896 and 1910. Only Neville Southall has featured in more (15).

Coleman admitted reaching such a milestone is a great source of pride for him and added the achievement is enhanced by keeping alive his long-term goal of securing silverware as a player for the Club. 

“It’s nice. Of course, it’s nice,” explained Coleman reflecting on his achievement. “It shows, maybe, how personally resilient I’ve been throughout because I’ve had two long-term injuries in there, as well.  Maybe for other people, two career-threatening injuries. 

“I broke my leg in 2017 and had the knee injury that everyone knew about in May, so I think I’m proud of the resilience I’ve shown to keep coming back. If you love something enough, then you will find a way. I love playing for this football club and I don’t take it for granted.

“I’m proud of those stats, but for me, I want to do something at this football club. I’ll keep saying that out loud until it’s not possible - until I’ve kicked my last ball. Thankfully, we’re still in the Cup, and there’s still a dream alive there for me and the lads.”

Everton proved the better side for much of Thursday’s clash at Selhurst Park and were pushing hard in the latter stages to bag the game’s decisive goal. 

However, VAR intervened on what looked an innocuous Dominic Calvert-Lewin challenge halfway inside the Palace half and instructed referee Chris Kavanagh to watch a replay before he opted to send the forward off and reduce Everton to 10 men in the 79th minute. 

The Club lodged an appeal to the red card with the FA on Friday afternoon, yet, how the Blues battled in those latter stages with 10 men was, in the opinion of Coleman, yet more evidence of the improving resilience and determination within this Everton squad. 

“We’re still in it, that’s the main thing,” he explained. “We knew coming here would be a tough game, but with the belief and the mindset we have at the minute, we thought we could get a win. It wasn’t to be with how the game played out in the end, we were holding on a little bit and down to 10 men.

“I was fully confident we would [put in a strong performance]. We did come off it [at Wolves] and there’s no getting away from that. But the lads have worked ever so hard. It’s not just matchdays because that has to start somewhere.  

“Every day in training, the lads are giving their all for the manager, for the Club, and for the fans. You can see that in the performances. [The Wolves match] was a game where we’d come off and it was important to put that right. We didn’t win, but we’re still in it.”