Michael Keane Everton stance clear after behind-the-scenes impact revealed

Michael Keane may divide opinion but, writes Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas, his determination to do his best for his club has never been in doubt

Michael Keane Everton stance remains clear after behind-the-scenes impact revealed

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Everton’s defence was THE story of last season for the club - on the pitch, at least. The emergence of Jarrad Branthwaite and the partnership he formed with ever-present James Tarkowski was the bedrock of everything that went right.

Big wins were built on clean sheets - think celebrations at Goodison Park after those victories over Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool among others. In the end, and while Everton were susceptible to the odd collapse, only title runners-up Arsenal kept more clean sheets in the league.

Branthwaite and Tarkowski grabbed the headlines through that run but the roots of their success ran deeper. I remember sitting down with Tarkowski during the October international break and discussing with him the defensive resilience that was beginning to come to the fore as Everton’s form picked up just before the club suffered its first points deduction.

The conversation was intended to edge towards Branthwaite’s breakthrough but Tarkowski instead shifted it elsewhere. His message was clear - what supporters saw over 90 minutes on the pitch was built on the work at the training ground in the week before. Crucial to that, he said, were the players who were not getting onto the pitch - Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey.

In a side office at Finch Farm, he explained: “To be fair, talking about the [defenders’] union, the two lads who have not been playing recently, Keano and Ben Godfrey, it is easy to forget about them a bit because me and Jarrad are playing, but they have been excellent, supporting us from behind, helping us.

“Every matchday you will see them warm us up and be in and around us, talking to us. People like that are invaluable and probably overlooked from outside the club because don’t see it day-in, day-out. But for me and Jarrad to have two lads like that supporting us is incredible and they will get an opportunity to play, I’m sure.”

Tarkowski’s words proved poignant a few weeks later when a reshuffle at the back was required for a game in which defeat would have been a gut punch that threatened to undo the progress made in Everton’s immediate response to what was then a 10 point deduction.

When the Blues headed to Burnley just before Christmas both Keane and Godfrey were required to start. Both went on to star as Everton kept a clean sheet and secured three valuable points. Godfrey’s pace and agility provided one of the highlights of the match as he recovered to prevent Zeki Amdouni from a goal that would have brought his team back into the game.

Keane’s outstanding display in the heart of the defence earned him the Premier League man of the match title. At the other end of the pitch, his cool finish doubled Everton’s lead. He also hit the post.

With both Branthwaite and Tarkowski having suffered injury issues over the summer, Keane has played a big part in pre-season and the start of this campaign. In doing so, he has impressed Dyche, who has repeatedly praised a player he implicitly trusts.

Everton have struggled at the back for most of the season and Branthwaite and Tarkowski’s problems have undoubtedly been a part of that.

But while he can, at times, be a lightning rod for criticism, Keane has persevered with maturity and professionalism. It is easy to look at the lack of Branthwaite as a factor in a slow start to this season but it would be unfair to solely focus on the heart of defence when looking for explanations.

Everton have endured an injury crisis at full back that remains ongoing. In the centre of the pitch, Dyche is still yet to stumble on a partnership and tactical approach that offers protection to those behind it. There was focus, understandably, on Keane after Ollie Watkins leapt above him at the back post at Aston Villa to start his side's comeback. But by the time he was battling in the air for that ball Everton had already allowed Amadou Onana too much time and space in the middle to pick out Lucas Digne, who faced no pressure as he delivered the cross into the box.

The 31-year-old has had tough moments in Royal Blue but he has remained diligent and willing to step up when the pressure is on - stepping up for the first penalty in the Carabao Cup shootout against Southampton and scoring. He took a spot kick in the shootout against Fulham last season and buried that too.

During some of the most testing times for Everton in recent years he has tried to seize the initiative - it was, of course, Keane who scored the first goal in that survival-clinching comeback against Crystal Palace, and there was his last minute rocket at home to Tottenham Hotspur that rescued an important point in a season that went down to the final seconds with Everton’s Premier League status on the line. The refrain that he is among the best finishers in the squad is no joke and he has provided some of the most important goals in the club's recent struggles.

Even in one of his toughest moments, when he scored an own goal as Spurs tore through Everton under Frank Lampard, Keane was playing through sickness in the hope he could help his team as it endured a crisis at the back.

The international break has come at a good time for Everton and the likelihood is the two week break will give Tarkowski and Branthwaite the time they need to return to full fitness, thus placing Keane’s starting role at risk.

Whatever happens after this lull, however, Everton enter it on a positive note after three games unbeaten following a useful point against Newcastle United that was built on the first clean sheet of the league campaign. It was also Keane’s best performance of the season and one in which he again showed his determination to perform for Everton, something that has never left him.

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