EVERTON COACH ALAN Stubbs believes Irish midfielder Darron Gibson is integral to the future of the club.
The 25-year-old, who is on the verge of returning from a recent injury, has established himself in the Toffees’ first team, having been sold to them by Manchester United the season before last.
“Eveton are a better side when Darron Gibson’s in the team,” Stubbs told TheScore.ie, speaking in conjunction with the release of his autobiography, How Football Saved My Life.
“Darron has been instrumental in everything good we do.”
There had been some speculation that Gibson would get less game time, following the club’s £14million signing of James McCarthy, yet Stubbs remains adamant that the ex-Manchester United man is a vital member of the side.
“He’s unfortunately had a couple of injury niggles at the start of this season, but he’s a very, very important player for Everton, as he showed last season.”
Gibson has controversially neglected to make himself available for selection for Ireland after falling out with then-manager Giovanni Trapattoni, however Stubbs sees no problem with his attitude.
“He’s a great lad on and off the pitch. I can relate to him a lot. For me, he’s a real winner.
The Everton coach reserved similarly glowing praise for Irish international Seamus Coleman, who he believes has gone from strength to strength since the club signed him as a youngster from Sligo Rovers.
“Seamus has done remarkably since he first came to the club as a young boy who was playing in Ireland. It really is a gamble when you take players like that. You just hope they can settle in and the football comes out and that they’re relaxed and comfortable with their surroundings.”
He continues: “Seamus, from the day he came in, kept improving and improving all the time. We knew going forward he was really positive and very exciting. We worked hard defensively because we felt he needed to improve in that area.
“He was very, very keen. He was a really good listener. He took all the information on board and was always wanting to improve and do better.”
“He’s done super. And he’s a lovely lad, which is important.”
There has been much debate over what Coleman’s best position is, but Stubbs is simply happy that the club have such a versatile player at their disposal.
“The way the modern game is going, you start to see a lot more wing-backs, and Seamus can do both.“I think eventually, he’ll be tied down as being a full-back. The fact that he can play right midfield when asked to is very helpful.”
Meanwhile, Stubbs has also backed new signing McCarthy to shine.
“I went to watch him a few times when he was at Wigan and was impressed by him,” he says. “He’s got a big move now that he’s always wanted. And he’s come to a big club like Everton, which I’m sure will fit him very well. He’s got great energy, and plays at both domestic and international level.
“He’s starting to become a real regular now and he’s starting to firm his place up with Ireland and get into the team at Everton.”
In addition, Stubbs admits that another promising young Irish player at the club, Shane Duffy, may have to go out on loan in search of first-team football.
“It’s probably been frustrating for Shane. He hasn’t had as much playing time as he would have liked. There’s an opportunity or a possibility that Shane could go out on loan to get some invaluable experience.“It’s just to get that competitive element to his game to make sure his mind is switched on. He’s gone past reserve-team football. He needs first-team action.”
While one of Duffy’s main rivals for a place in the side, Sylvain Distin, is now 35, Stubbs sees no end in sight professionally for the French centre-back.
“Sylvain just keeps performing and performing — it doesn’t look like there’s any signs of him slowing down, which is great for Everton, but not great for Shane.
“Sylvain and Phil [Jagielka] have built up a great relationship between the two of them.
“Shane definitely has the potential. At the age of 21, he’s ready. And you can see he does get frustrated, but that’s good, because it means he cares.”
‘How Football Saved My Life’ by Alan Stubbs is available to buy now. More details here.
