Pickford to prove he’s still ENG No 1 & opens up on working with new GK coach

There was a short moment of fame in St George's Park this week when Jordan Pickford inserted the press room into the press conference and stopped his chair at the upper table.

New manager, new players, new training schedule, but here was the same goalkeeper of England who took the same walk that he has done so often in the last eight years.

He has been England's NR for so long.

Joe Hart and David Seaman, two more big ones, two performances wait for him. Also play against Latvia and he will also join them, with only Peter Shilton then for him as the most covered man in England among the sticks.

But even for a player who is woven into the recent substance of England, a constant so crucial for achieving back-to-back Euro Finals and a semi from World Cup, the questions asked him this week about the winds of change and how he probably should shift with them.

This is now Tuchel's England. He will want his keepers to play his way and have brought in a new coach in Henrique Hilario to teach them. He made it clear when he called his team that he sees them all as equals.

Pickford knows, perhaps for the first time in a while, that he has to prove himself again and, as you would expect from this charm from the northeast, he is ready to do exactly that.

“My motivation has never been to chase caps,” Pickford said. 'The bigger motivation is just to be the best keeper I can be and that should hopefully take me to 100 caps because I do the right things for club and country.

“I always want to learn. Every keeper coach you have will have his own ideas. It's all about improving myself, so I have to use my brain and listen to what he (hilario) says. How can I get better from what he encourages in the session?

'That is something I enjoy, because there is always a change in football and it makes me a better keeper.

'It's about learning and adapting to the way they want their goalkeeper to play, their playing style, etc. I feel that I am very good at that.

'I will always want more and I will always push to get more. I have to keep improving to get those goals and it is something I stand at and I think I will reach. '

Few have seen the growth of Pickford and Everton manager David Moyes, who worked with the goalkeeper in his early days at Sunderland before his current spell was in charge of the cooles.

Everton fans also know all too well, where their club could be, it was not for their Mackem in goal.

“There are always people ready to take your sweater if you don't play well and you have to keep the top,” said Everton -Baas Moyes, who supported Pickford to be England for the first four years, Wednesday.

“I think Jordan enjoys showing his qualities. I don't know what ages Zeeman, Shilton and Chris Woods had as a peak period for a keeper. I don't think 34 or 35 will be outrageous.

'I still think that there are pieces that I now see that – you have to remember that when I had it for the first time, he was probably about 19 – I think there are pieces of his games where he can still be a bit erratic and a bit exciting and things, but what he ultimately does the ball is that he keeps the net out of the net and the evidence is because of the amount of clean sheets we have. He is very good at that. But I think he will be more a leader.

“He sometimes behaves like a young boy, I know!”

Pickford's confidence in itself remains steadfast, but for all penalty shootout -hero acts he is no stranger to outdoor noise when it comes to his place when England's no. 1.

When Aaron Ramsdale was the first choice of Arsenal, many wondered if Pickford would lose his place to a player in a title hunting team instead of a lake used to a relegation struggle.

Now the question has become one about how Pickford's style and his preference for pinging long balls can join Tuchel's history of Club -goalkeepers skilled with the ball at their feet.

Does Pickford think he gets the honor he deserves?

“I think so,” says Pickford. 'Every time I pulled a shirt from England, I have performed, I always stepped on the plate. I have always taken it in my pass. And at club level I have been very consistent for four or five years now.

'When I first came on stage, I was that young 23-year-old keeper who learned his profession. Now I have learned that it is about maintaining and how can I improve every day and be consistent. I think I did that. I think that is why I am a level with benches and two more caps until I match with heart and seaman.

'I always looked up to Harty, he was the number one when I was a young child. I have always wanted to be Joe Hart, so it will be a great honor to get those two caps and to move forward and go for it. '

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