EVERTON GOALKEEPER JORDAN Pickford says he gets “hurt” by the criticism he receives and feels hated because he is an England player.
The shot stopper made headlines again for a blunder that allowed Crystal Palace to equalise against Everton in Saturday’s Premier League match.
The Toffees went on to win 3-1, but Pickford admitted his disappointment after the game, describing the error as “disgusting”.
Pickford, 25, has been criticised for high-profile mistakes since he impressed at the last World Cup with England.
And the shot stopper says it feels like fans and the media hate Three Lions players, calling out Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville for some of his comments.
“I think the press and everybody, the punters - look at Gary Neville – they just want to come for England players,” he said.
Everyone gets stick. That’s part of being an England player. You have to live with it, you’ve got to learn.
“You just keep it away from your head as the only person who can sort things out is yourself, on the pitch and in training. Every England player gets stick. Some get a lot more praise than others. Look at Joe Hart when he was No 1. He got pelters every week.
“It’s easy to see. Everyone hates you, for some reason. I just get on with it. I know what I’m capable of and I know what I’m good at. Yeah, it hurts.
I know I have been good for England. It’s funny because everyone raves about you when you are with England, but then you go back to your club and everyone wants to slate you. I don’t let it affect me. But it does p*ss you off.”
Pickford let a tame effort from Christian Benteke slip past him in the weekend clash, but recovered to pull off an impressive save to stop Palace from pulling level again later in the second half.
And he is confident he will shake off the disappointment to get back on form.
“I think it just shows my mental character,” he added. “People probably doubt me week in, week out. But I know what I am capable of and I know what I can do. I will keep pushing. I have reached a certain level and I don’t want to stop.”
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