Phil Neville tells Everton FC’s players to follow Tony Hibbert’s example as he calls for true grit

Mar 21 2011 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo

PHIL NEVILLE wants Everton to follow Tony Hibbert’s example and show they have the true grit to save their season.

The Blues skipper was impressed with a determined defensive performance from Hibbert which helped ensure a nervy 2-1 victory over Fulham at Goodison on Saturday, and hopes the right-back’s attitude is infectious.

Neville, who lasted the entire game on his return to the side from injury, insists Everton may have to sacrifice style for efficiency in order to carry on climbing up the Premier League table.

Victory over Mark Hughes’s men moved the Toffees up to eighth, and Neville says grinding out results is all that matters in the remaining eight games.

He said: “The teams around us are all scrapping too, and maybe we have to go back to three or four years ago when we had to grind out results. This club is ingrained in that kind of spirit and that’s what the manager wants from us now.

“Tony Hibbert epitomised that. He was dogged as ever and he’s a great defender. It was a special day for him because this is his tenth year at the club. He is an unsung hero in the dressing room but epitomises everything we’ll need in the next eight games.

“He’s an out and out defender. I thought he was outstanding against Newcastle and Birmingham too. When the manager looked at the situation three or four games ago I think he decided he needed reliable, tried and trusted players.

“Tony Hibbert is well respected at this club, I don’t think he realises how highly sometimes.

“The crowd respect him, and the amount of time he’s spent here justifies that. Him and Ossie have been setting the tone for our more dogged appearances.”

Neville says that Everton can still capitalise on rife inconsistency elsewhere in the table, if they can manage to find some uniformity in their own results.

He said: “The thing with the league this year is that there have been so many times when we’ve thought we can push into the top half and make inroads into the top seven and we’ve always faltered.

“Now we’re eighth and the gaffer said in the dressing room afterwards that we need to remember that even at 2-0, there hasn’t been a game all season which is all finished at that stage.

“The way it’s going this year anything can happen, and I think you’re going to see another eight games like against Fulham.

We’ve just got to finish as high as possible. There are eight games left and I don’t think one team from that middle section have put a run together yet. We aim to be above Bolton, Sunderland and Liverpool. If we finish in front of Liverpool and don’t achieve anything, that’s still a failure for me.

“We need to do the basics. That’s what the manager said after the Birmingham game and we did it against Fulham.

On the quiet we’re developing a nice little run.”

Meanwhile, Everton will hope to hear some good news today after Louis Saha has his latest injury assessed. The striker had to be stretchered off the field on Saturday, and will undergo tests at Finch Farm today to determine the severity of his problem. Saha, who scored Everton’s second goal, appeared to land awkwardly on his ankle after challenging for a header four minutes from time.