Sunderland survival key for Jordan Pickford rather than England place
Tuesday 1 November 2016 16:48, UK
Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford insists his sole focus is on helping his club steer clear of the relegation zone.
The 22-year-old received his first England call-up last month after impressing interim boss Gareth Southgate in the opening months of the season.
"I thrive on pressure and I don't get nervous. I just keeping work hard and put the performances in," he told Sky Sports News HQ on a visit to a local boxing gym.
"It's all about learning, you never stop. I just need to get that first clean sheet for myself and I'll just keep trying my best each game and try not to concede."
Pickford's first taste of the senior England set-up came in October when he was called up to replace Tom Heaton in the squad for the World Cup European Qualifier against Slovenia.
He may not have made it onto the pitch for the goalless draw in Ljubljana - where Joe Hart starred for the away side - but Pickford was inspired nonetheless.
"Gareth Southgate [interim England manager] called me up and I had a couple of days' experience," added Pickford.
"When I was younger, Joe Hart was crossing every bridge and I've got to look at what he was doing when he was at Shrewsbury.
"That's the path I want to try and take."
Pickford was watched at the Stadium of Light by Team GB Olympic light-welterweight Pat McCormack, a friend since school, who expressed surprise that Pickford had come so far in his chosen sport.
"I went to the match on Saturday [a 4-1 defeat at home to Arsenal], that's the first time I've seen him play, and it was mad to actually see him on the pitch in front of all those people," said McCormack.
"I have grown up with him, he went to the school around the corner from me, I've always known Jordan.
"I didn't think he was that good, though!"
