Everton FC’s Phil Jagielka says ‘We can’t take our foot off the gas’

Phil Jagielka, Everton FC

PHIL JAGIELKA believes Everton FC must keep their foot to the pedal until the season’s end – for the benefit of club and country.

The Blues are still battling to finish above neighbours Liverpool for the first time in seven years, while Jagielka and team-mate Leighton Baines are also trying to be part of Roy Hodgson’s England squad for Euro 2012.

And with only Sunday’s visit of Newcastle remaining before the European Championship campaign, Jagielka said: “We’re trying. We don’t know what the squad is yet and the Euros are just around the corner. It makes it interesting.

“You’ve got to keep going to the end of the season, not take your foot off the gas and give Roy Hodgson the headache of who’s going to go in his squad.

“Hopefully I’ve played well enough in the last few weeks to at least be in with a shout.

“It’s nice to finish at home and it’s nice that there’s something on the game. I’m sure the fans will be looking forward to it. We still might need some sort of result come Sunday and if that’s the case I’m sure the fans will get behind us and we’ll send them home quite happy.”

Jagielka has welcomed the appointment of former Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson as national manager.

“I think the appointment is really good. We needed it doing as soon as possible,” he added. “Look at his CV, look at the successes he’s had. Okay he didn’t have the best of times at Liverpool but one bad experience doesn’t make him a bad coach or a bad manager.

“There weren’t too many people out there who could have taken the job, but the FA have gone with Roy and time will tell.

“We’ve not done amazingly well in the championships in the past 40 years or whatever, so hopefully Roy will do as well as he can and the boys can do well for him.”