Jordan Pickford makes X-rated vow to Thomas Tuchel after equalling England record

Jordan Pickford says he will “work his b******s” off as he looks to extend his SEVEN YEARS as England’s number one when Thomas Tuchel takes over.

The keeper’s 73rd cap moved him alongside Gordon Banks on the all-time list of England goalkeeping appearances and Pickford reckons there are plenty more to come. He said: “I’m still young as a keeper, I’m still fine, still learning, still getting better.

"I’ll go back to Everton now, I’ll work my b******s off. I’ll work hard on the training pitch, I’ll get myself prepared right for Saturday. That’s what I do for England. I’ve come away, I’ve had a great week, two clean sheets but I’ve trained well.

"You’ve got to train well and be in the right mindset, that’s what I do every day. For me, I always say you’ve got to be on form for your club to get picked for your country. I’ve always looked at it that way.”

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Thirty-year-old Pickford, who made his England debut in November 2017 against Germany, is now two behind the number of caps won by Joe Hart and David Seaman - although he is 52 behind Peter Shilton’s record - and is determined to be Tuchel’s first-choice keeper. He went on: “I’ve been number one for England for seven years now.

"It’s about me keeping focused, keep improving each day at Everton and when it comes round to March, hopefully I’m in top form for the new manager and kicking on. We’ve got to go back to our club and perform week in, week out and be at our best to get picked for the country. That’s the challenge for everybody.”

And Pickford reckons the new manager has been given a helping hand by Lee Carsley, who won five of his six matches in charge. He explained: “There’s definitely new energy and there’s going to be a lot of competition for places.

“But that’s what it’s about. You want the best players for England at the right moment and hopefully going forward next year we’ve got that squad ready to win. The new manager is going to come in January and he’s a winner. Our main target is to get to the USA and lift that trophy. We’ve been so close, we want to go that one step further.”

After the defeat against at Wembley last month, Pickford was dropped for the win in Finland but responded by keeping back-to-back clean sheets. And he is delighted with the way England responded to that shock loss to the Greeks.

Pickford said: “We were always going to be disappointed with that setback but you can learn from that. We never want to get beat at Wembley but it’s about how we can learn. Over the last three games, Finland away and the two games this week, it’s been a real improvement and enjoyable as well.”

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