safc.com chats with Washington-born stopper Jordan Pickford about Sunderland’s return to winning ways, his kicking, clean sheets and the Lads’ Boxing Day trip to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.
Jordan, a big win over Watford last Saturday and a huge morale boost after back-to-back defeats…
JP: “We had a good chance against Watford to get three points and that’s what we did. We struck together as a team and while we didn’t play great football in the first half we stuck at it and got the result. We pushed forward more after the interval and played really well. We played well against Chelsea but Thibaut Courtois made a decent stop in the end.”
A valuable three points to rekindle our November form...
JP: “Our momentum is gradually building up, we have been on a good run, and we are getting points on the board and keeping it tight at the back. Manchester United will be a tough game but we know it’s a good time to play them.”
Another clean sheet at home, and on a personal note that’s got to be just as pleasing as the three points?
JP: “It’s nice to get a clean sheet because I’m not getting them as much as I would like to. I will take each clean sheet as it comes because from a goalkeeper’s point of view there is definitely nothing better than that.”
Your kicking has received a lot of plaudits, where did that first come from?
JP: “Nowhere special really, I just used to go out onto the field and practice my kicking. When I was a young lad myself and a couple of the lads played and it kind of just came from that. I always like kicking long distances so that’s what I always practised. The more I did it the more I learnt and the better I got. Now it’s just a case of doing it on a consistent basis.”
A trip to Old Trafford like you mentioned before is up next, ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ where anything can happen…
JP: “This is why the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world because we are going up against some top, top players. We have got to go there and show we don’t fear them. We have to stick to our game plan, keep a clean sheet and then like you say anything can happen. We’ll have a good week of training, we’ll go there with a game plan and hopefully that works out for us on the day.”