Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on 'dream' season in Premier League
Saturday 24 December 2016 07:22, UK
Jordan Pickford says he's living his dream after establishing himself as a Premier League goalkeeper for Sunderland this season.
The 22-year-old has been on Sunderland's books for more than a decade and has emerged as David Moyes' first-choice goalkeeper following loan spells at clubs including Darlington, Carlisle, Bradford and Preston.
He admits he has made mistakes this term, including a crucial one that saw Southampton's Jay Rodriguez net an equaliser in August, but his improved displays saw him named in Jamie Carragher's Premier League team of the season so far earlier this week.
But Pickford says simply to be playing for Sunderland is a dream.
"I'm young and I'm going to make mistakes. It's how you bounce back from them," he said in an exclusive interview with Soccer Saturday.
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"I felt like when the next save comes I'll make the save. I'm not bothered about it. It doesn't affect my mindset and I just love playing. I could play every day if I had to.
"I felt like the more games I play the better I'll get as a keeper and the more mature I'll become.
"Over the years on loan I've shown what I'm capable of doing out on the pitch. I've always thought I was good enough. It was just about being patient and waiting for the right time to go and show them what I can do.
"It's always been my dream to play for Sunderland. I've been here since I was seven or eight and for my family and everyone who has supported me since I was younger it has been great for us."
Sunderland have won four of their last seven Premier League matches, but remain in the relegation zone after a tough start to the season.
But Pickford insists the form of free signing Victor Anichebe alongside top scorer Jermain Defoe has given him hope the club can continue to climb the table.
"JD is staying fit and scoring goals when he wants, but its massive that Vic is helping as well and we're not just relying on JD as much.
"We've got everyone moving and bombing forward and I think the whole team is working well together.
"When I first got in the side I was kicking it up to JD and its quite hard because he's not the biggest. He's strong but other lads were overpowering him.
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"Now we've got a target man with Vic, who can spin them. He's a really powerful lad, huge and we can work off him. That helps us to get up the pitch."
He added: "We've had a really good run. It's four of the last seven we've won and that's been massive for us.
"I kept saying in interviews before that we weren't far away from getting to grips with things. Now we've got to grips and everyone is working well together.
"I think it's the click of the squad. New faces have come in. Putting in the hard work on the training ground into practice in the matches is what we needed to do and I feel like that's what is helping us."
For more from Jordan Pickford's exclusive interview, tune into Soccer Special on Boxing Day from midday on Sky Sports News HQ
