Coleman opens up on injury-hit season and a surprising effect of Moyes return

Irish Daily Mirror

21-05-2025

Seamus Coleman's season was summed up by last weekend's Goodison Park farewell - when his big moment, captaining the team for their final Premier League game at the historic ground, ended after just 18 minutes.
The Everton and Ireland skipper has managed less than 300 minutes in all competitions this season, across five Premier League games and one League Cup clash.
And on the international front, his performance in Heimir Hallgrímsson's debut as Ireland manager - a 2-0 defeat at home to England - ended after he injured himself while challenging Harry Maguire early in the second-half.
He hasn't featured since, and his prospects of a return for the June friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg hinge on the speed of his recovery from the knock that saw him substituted at the weekend.
For Coleman, it was a successful season on one level - Everton head to their brand new Bramley Moore Dock home as a Premier League side.
This season it never really looked in doubt, unlike in recent campaigns. In 2022/23, they finished just two points clear of the relegation zone, while 12 months earlier the gap was four points.
'The end result, absolutely, was for Everton Football Club to be heading into our new stadium in the Premier League,' Coleman told the official Everton programme.
'That's been hanging over our heads for a few years and now it's done.
'So, yeah, unselfishly, the goal was thankfully achieved but, you know, for my pride and professionalism, I've been disappointed with my availability this season – there is absolutely no getting away from that.
'I've had a couple of little niggles, I had an issue with my knee which I got resolved and that helped but I picked up another couple of little ones.
'The flip side to it is I've lived every minute of it and more than ever when it wasn't going well earlier in the season. It ended up me even standing on the sideline as a manager alongside Bainesy, when I was supposed to be on the bench that day.
'The emotions and the stress levels have been through the roof because of the uncertainty.'
As soon as David Moyes, the man that signed him in 2009, walked back through the door at Everton, however, uncertainty was no longer an issue.
Coleman even admitted that the Scot's return - after spells at Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham, where he won the Europa Conference League - has left him a lot more chilled about the direction in which the club is heading.
'I must say, since the gaffer has come in, now I do feel relaxed and that's the biggest compliment I can give him,' said the Donegalman.
'I knew immediately there was someone in the building that will hurt every bit as much as me if Everton were to go down – and that there was someone in the building wanting Everton to succeed every bit as much as me.
'The manager has got unbelievable pride in being here. I know he's been to Manchester United, West Ham, Sunderland, Real Sociedad, but I just feel like Everton is his club. He's the manager, isn't he?
'It's helped me sleep a bit easier at night having him here again! I've been comfortable to step back a little bit because he gets it, and he knows what this is all about.
'The manager, Billy [McKinlay], Alan [Irvine] have all been fantastic for us. Bainesy, too, has been absolutely brilliant, which I think anyone who knew him knew he would be because he's that character and whatever he puts his mind to, he's nearly perfect in it.
'We're in good hands and now we must all move forward, together.'