Club captain Seamus Coleman believes he has a duty to help Everton for as long as he can and admits he will know when it is time to quit as he considers a new one-year deal.
Along with fellow veteran Ashley Young, 38, Coleman has been offered new terms for a further 12 months ahead of the final season at Goodison Park. The 35-year-old has been with the Blues since his legendary £60,000 transfer from Sligo Rovers in January 2009, but admits he put thoughts about his future on the back burner until after Sunday's final Premier League match against Arsenal.
The Republic of Ireland international said: "As the club has said, I have been offered something but it is not something I have thought deeply about. For me, the games are always the most important and the most important." it was important to get these few games out of the way.
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Coleman broke his former teammate Tim Howard's club record for Premier League appearances this season and after the 2-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium is now on 364, some 10 more than the retired US international goalkeeper. After reaching 422 goals in all competitions for Everton, the man from Killybegs, County Donegal, is now just a dozen games away from eclipsing Dixie Dean and knocking out the club's biggest goalscorer from the top 10.
He said: "Listen, I enjoy it in the sense that I love the football club and I've always said that if wingers jump past me I'll understand. I also play against some top wingers in training and I'm still I feel competitive, like I don't run more than five or six times per race.
"Right now I know I won't play on the wing and I won't play 38 games a season, but I also know the value I bring to the dressing room because I live in the city. I understand what the football club means and I can pass those messages on to the players when things get tough.
"I absolutely love the football club so it was about getting these games out of the way and we sit down and see what's next."
Coleman's 12 Premier League appearances this season have equaled his lowest ever total at Everton in 2017/18 (when he was recovering from a double leg fracture), but he recognizes he can have a positive impact on his teammates whether he is in the squad or not. He said: "Of course every football player wants to be on the field.
"It's been tough for me, but it's also been tough for all Evertonians. I have a duty to put myself aside to help the greater good and I can always find a way to help a group or the mood in the camp, whether I play or not.
"That's probably been my job for most of the season as I haven't played as many games as I would have liked, but let's not forget that I picked up a very bad injury against Leicester. Whether you play or don't play, it The most important thing is the football club and achieving results and I help with that as much as possible."
Coleman was part of Everton teams that battled for honors in his younger days, but in more than 15 years at Goodison Park, triumphing over adversity this season, with the team securing their place in the division with three games to spare, despite two separate point deductions. have given him one of his proudest moments. He said: "We did what we had to do as a group of players, as a fan base, as a football club and management team. Everyone can talk about the decisions and the two points deduction that has never been heard of." I am very proud of the reaction of the group, the players, the club, the fans.
"Now that it's over, you can forget how tough that period actually was. We also had a series of games where we didn't win very well.
"I am very proud of the togetherness of everyone at this football club to keep us where we belong and we are happy with that.
"It's very important. I've had better times here in terms of top-five, top-six, top-seven finishes and a few runs in the Europa League, but the last three years haven't been that way. But you sign up at the football club and whatever happens you have to deal with it.
"The last three years have been very tough for everyone involved but the togetherness and the manager since he came in has kept this football club where it belongs. We hope to get into the new stadium and things will turn around so Evertonians can move forward to look." again because it has of course been a tough time and we understand that."
Coleman, who was brought to the club by David Moyes, has played for nine different managers at Everton but believes current boss Sean Dyche deserves credit for keeping his head above water this season despite all the off-field turmoil. He said:
"I think we've had a kick-off. If you take away the points deduction, where would we be? (12th, above Bournemouth on goal difference)
"That is a huge improvement compared to the previous two seasons, one went to the penultimate match of the season and the other to the last. So there is an improvement.
"I think the manager has to get a huge amount of credit for that with his style, his principles and his old-school mentality, which is a good thing when I say that. I said last week that we brought that little bit of Everton back."
"I wouldn't say it's his way or the highway, it's not quite that way, but he's a disciplinarian in a positive way and sometimes that's what we needed. should get credit for that, but so should the players because they could have succumbed to the pressure we have had this season."
