Everton captain Seamus Coleman says he is yet to decide whether to accept the offer of a new contract, but believes he still has “value” to offer and a “duty” to help the club.
The 35-year-old’s current deal is due to expire at the end of June, with director of football Kevin Thelwell confirming last week that a new one-year extension was on the table.
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After battling back from medial ligament damage sustained last May, Coleman made just seven Premier League starts this season. He returned to the side towards the end of the campaign, though, to help Everton over the line and has been a key figure behind the scenes in helping avoid relegation for a third successive year.
A decision is still to be made on whether he takes his Everton career into a sixteenth season, but the Ireland international is confident he still has something left to offer.
“I’m enjoying it in terms of I love the club and have always said when wingers are skipping past me, I’ll understand (it’s time to retire),” Coleman said after Sunday’s 2-1 final-day defeat against Arsenal. “I play against some top wingers in training as well and still feel competitive like I’m not getting run past five or six times a game.
“I know I’m not going to be up and down the wing and not going to be playing 38 games a season but I also know the value I bring to the dressing room because I live in the city, understand what the club means and can relay those messages when the going gets tough.
“I’ve been offered (a deal) but it’s not something that I’ve sat down and considered deeply just yet. For me, the games are always the most-important and it was important to get these couple of games out of the way. I absolutely idolise the club and we’ll sit down and see what’s next.
“Now it’s time to sit down and think about it but I make no secret about it, I absolutely love the club; I feel like I have got a duty to help the club while I still feel I can so we’ll see where the next couple of weeks takes us.”
GO DEEPERAnalysing Everton's right-back options: Godfrey, Coleman, Young, Patterson or Garner?Coleman also praised manager Everton manager Sean Dyche for his role in steering the club to safety with three games to spare despite two points deductions.
Without those deductions, they would have finished level with Brighton in 11th, and Coleman believes that shows how much progress has been made this season.
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“We’ve done what we needed to do as a group of players, as a fanbase, as a football club” he said. “Everyone else can talk about the decisions and the two points deductions that have never been heard of before. I’ve very, very proud of the reaction of everyone.
“If you take away the points deductions where would we be? That’s a massive improvement on the previous two seasons.
“The manager has to take massive credit for that with his style, his principles, his old-school mentality, which is a good thing when I say that. Bringing that little bit of Everton back.
Ben Godfrey and Ashley Young are right-back options for Everton (Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
“It’s not his way or the highway completely but he’s a disciplinarian in a positive way and sometimes that’s what we’ve needed. The improvements have been there and the manager has to be given credit for that, but so should the players because they could have gone under with the pressure we’ve had this season.
“I’ve been here through better times in terms of top-five, top-six, top-seven finishes and a few runs in the Europa League but the last three years haven’t been that, they’ve been a lot tougher. But you sign up to the club and whatever comes along, you’ve got to deal with it.
“The last three years have been very tough for everyone but the togetherness and the manager have kept this club where it belongs. We’re hoping to get into the new stadium and things will change so Evertonians can look forwards again, because it’s been a tough time of course and we understand that.”
(Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Patrick Boyland has been The Athletic's Everton correspondent since 2019. Prior to joining the company, he worked for ESPN, Mail Online and press agency Sportsbeat, where he covered numerous major sporting events. Boyland's views on Everton have been sought out by local and national media, while he is also a regular on a number of podcasts focusing on the club.Follow him on Twitter: @Paddy_Boyland
