Seamus Coleman hated the question but the scene that was playing out behind him in Goodison Park’s tunnel invited it.
As Everton’s captain spoke with typical honesty, he was tapped on the shoulder by Nathan Paterson, who was heading home. Walking in the opposite direction at the same time was Ben Godfrey, who had just completed a taxing warm down. Leaning against a wall, watching on, was Mason Holgate.
Paterson, who is working his way back from an ankle injury, Godfrey and Holgate could all be Everton’s right-back in the future but the reality right now is that none can do what Coleman does for a team that continues to fight for its life.
But what made this little episode all the more remarkable was the idea that Paterson, Godfrey and Holgate were all schoolboys in 2009 when Coleman was plucked from Sligo Rovers by David Moyes for £60,000 to begin his Everton career.
‘Those boys are the future and I’m here to support them every single day in training,’ said Coleman. ‘What I want is Everton Football club to be successful and I’ve seen enough quality in the boys to know that they can come in at any given time. Patto was excellent for the first seven games.
Seamus Coleman continues to prove his worth to Everton as they fight off relegation
The Irishman scored the winning goal against Leeds on Saturday in the 1-0 victory at Goodison
‘But I’m a fighter. I want to play; they want to play and we’ll push each other in the right way. When they do play, and that time will come, I’ll be there to support them every single step of the way, there’s absolutely no doubt about that.’
What also is not in doubt is Coleman’s worth to his club. Things tend to go well when he gets a goal, a point illustrated by the fact Everton have not lost any of the 28 games in which he has scored and that sequence was extended in spectacular fashion against Leeds.
‘Was there anyone in the box to cross to?’ Coleman responded with mock outrage when asked, playfully, if his 64th minute howitzer – drilled through the slight opening left by Leeds keeper Ilan Meslier – was a cross or a shot.
‘To be honest… the old legs are finding it hard to get in those areas but I got in the area and I knew that maybe the keeper would have anticipated a cross so came half a yard. I could’ve hit it another 30 times and never hit it as sweet but thankfully I did.’
He’s 34 now and well aware those peak years, when he was a force of nature careering up and down the right flank, are behind him but his importance to the group has not diminished. If there were 15 others with his attitude and desire, the potential for being relegated wouldn’t exist.
Fans wonder whether players hurt as much as they do when times are bad but Coleman is this squad’s link to the Gwladys Street and he is as fed up as they at how managers have come and gone; Frank Lampard’s dismissal, for instance, left him distraught.
‘We know the business that when results aren’t going well, the managers lose their jobs,’ said Coleman. ‘I take that personally because I’ve been captain of the football club for the last four years, so I’m equally to blame for what’s going on here as anyone else.
‘The manager’s come in, he’s got experience, he’s tough, he’s confident in himself and he doesn’t get too high after that win. That’s not to say previous managers have got too high after wins – I just have to clear that up because headlines could be I’m having a go at another manager. I’d never do that.’
This is true. He is the professional’s professional but he must also go down as one of the finest pieces of business by any Premier League club. How many others have given such service for such a minimal outlay? Fate brought him to Merseyside but Everton have been lucky to have him.
Coleman (right) is the professional’s professional and Everton have been lucky to have him
Coleman insists he is here to help and support those at the club, including Ben Godfrey (right)
He must also go down as one of the finest pieces of business by any Premier League club
‘Listen, I get a reminder every single day of what it means to people, whether I’m out walking with my kids or when I get stuck at the traffic lights,’ said Coleman. ‘You see someone walk past and you’re thinking “Is this going to be a good look or a bad look?”
‘You don’t know what colour they’re going to be wearing – red or blue – but you see them and you see them grit their teeth and their fist pumping because you’re on the way to the game. This means so much to the people of the Everton side of Liverpool and we’re living and breathing it every day.
‘There’s no getting away from it – it’s been hard. That’s only three points and it’s been an extremely tough couple of years, of course it has. But I’m a fighter and [in the dressing room] we’ve got fighters in there. We’ve got an incredible fan base behind us to push us over the line.’
And that fan base will know, more than anything, that their captain will be pushing just as hard for them.
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