- Pickford is one of four goalkeepers who have been called up to Tuchel’s squad
- He faces a battle to remain No 1 despite prior preference and level of experience
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why Eddie Howe is the ‘greatest coach of his generation’
There was a brief moment of familiarity at St George’s Park this week as Jordan Pickford strode into the press conference room and pulled up his chair at the top table.
New manager, new players, new training schedule but here was the same England goalkeeper making the same walk he has done so many times over the past eight years.
For so long, he has been England’s No 1. He stands alongside World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks on 73 caps and will move past him if he starts Thomas Tuchel‘s first England game against Albania on Friday.
Joe Hart and David Seaman, two more greats, await two appearances ahead of him. Play against Latvia as well and he will join them, too, with only Peter Shilton then ahead of him as England’s most capped man between the sticks.
Yet even for a player so woven into England’s recent fabric, a constant so crucial to reaching back-to-back Euros finals and a World Cup semi, the questions posed to him this week were about the winds of change and how he will likely need to shift with them.
This is Tuchel’s England now. He will want his goalkeepers to play his way and has brought in a new coach in Henrique Hilario to teach them. He made it clear when he named his squad that he sees them all as equals.
Jordan Pickford has found himself in a fight to remain England’s No 1 under Thomas Tuchel
He will go past the likes of Gordon Banks, Joe Hart and David Seamen in England caps soon – if the retains the role
Tuchel has made it clear that he sees all of his goalkeepers as equals and wants them to play a certain way
Pickford knows, perhaps for the first time in a while, that he has to prove himself again and, as you might expect from this grafter from the north east, he’s ready to do just that.
‘My motivation has never been to chase caps,’ said Pickford. ‘The bigger motivation is just to be the best goalkeeper I can be and that should hopefully take me to 100 caps because I’m doing the right things for club and country.
‘I always want to learn. Every keeper coach you have will have their own ideas. It’s all about improving myself so I have got to use my brain and listen to what he (Hilario) says. How can I get better from what he’s putting on in the session?
‘That’s something I enjoy because there’s always change in football and it makes me a better goalkeeper.
‘It’s about learning and adapting to the way they want their goalkeeper to play, their style of play etc. I feel I’m very good at that.
‘I’ll always want more and I’ll always push to get more. I’ve got to keep improving to get those targets and it’s something I drive for and I think I’ll achieve.’
Few have seen Pickford’s growth as well as Everton manager David Moyes, who worked with the goalkeeper in his early days at Sunderland before his current spell back in charge of the Toffees.
Everton fans know only too well, too, where their club might be were it not for their Mackem in goal.
Henrique Hilario has been brought into the England camp as goalkeeping coach by Tuchel
Few have seen Pickford’s growth as well as Everton manager David Moyes, who also worked with him at Sunderland
The Scot has backed his club No 1 to remain England’s first choice for the next four years
‘There’s always people ready to take your jersey if you don’t play well and you’ve got to keep the top of it,’ said Everton boss Moyes, who backed Pickford to be England’s first choice for the next four years, on Wednesday.
‘I think Jordan is relishing showing his qualities. I don’t know what sort of ages Seaman, Shilton and Chris Woods had as their peak period for a goalkeeper. I don’t think 34 or 35 is going to be outrageous.
‘I still think there’s bits I see now which – you’ve got to remember when I first had him he was probably about 19 – I think there’s bits of his games where he could still be a bit erratic and a bit excitable and things but, ultimately, what he does is he keeps the ball out the net and the proof is there by the amount of clean sheets we’ve got. He’s very good at that. But I do think he’s turning into more of a leader.
‘He acts like a young boy sometimes, I know that!’
Pickford’s confidence in himself remains steadfast but for all the penalty shootout heroics he’s become no stranger to outside noise when it comes to his place as England’s No 1.
When Aaron Ramsdale was Arsenal’s first choice, many wondered whether Pickford would lose his place to a player in a title-chasing team instead of one more accustomed to a relegation battle.
Now, the question has become one about how Pickford’s style and his penchant for pinging long balls can align with Tuchel’s history of club goalkeepers adept with the ball at their feet.
Does Pickford feel he gets the credit that he deserves?
Many wondered whether Aaron Ramsdale would oust Pickford from the No 1 spot when he was in goal at Arsenal
Now, it is about whether Pickford can play how Tuchel wants to play – strong with the ball at his feet during games
‘I think so,’ says Pickford. ‘Every time I have pulled on an England shirt, I have performed, I have always stepped up to the plate. I have always taken it in my stride. And at club level, I’ve been very consistent over four or five years now.
‘When I first came on the scene, I was that young 23-year-old keeper learning his trade. Now I’ve learnt it it’s about maintaining it and how can I improve each day and be consistent. I think I’ve done that. I think that is why I am level with Banks and two more caps until I match Hart and Seaman.
‘I always looked up to Harty, he was the number one when I was a young kid. I always wanted to be Joe Hart so it will be a great honour to get those two caps and push forward and get ahead of them.’