TIM HOWARD insists he is still fighting fit to star in goal for Everton despite playing for two seasons without a proper break.
Howard proved his focus is far from flagging with a stunning last-gasp save against Wigan Athletic on Saturday, which prevented a frustrating afternoon for the Blues becoming far worse.
And although the 31-year-old has not had a decent summer rest in the last 18 months due to playing for the USA in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009, and last summer’s World Cup, he says he is not feeling the strain.
This season has seen the American make a couple of rare errors, but the stop against Wigan proved Howard is back at his indispensable best for the Blues.
He said: “It’s a silly position. The longer I play there the more I realise that but it’s great. It’s something I enjoy. These seasons are long and hard and they are a slug-fest.
“There are days, and periods when things are going really, really well. Then there’s times when you can’t get out of your own way. The top level professionals – the very best – work through it and keep cracking on.
“That doesn’t just go for goalkeepers, that’s any position. It’s a vital position though too, because we were on top of that game. We were peppering their goal all day, then there’s one chance and it’s possible you can lose all the points. I’m used to it.
“To be a full international at this level, that’s the responsibility now. You don’t really have a load of time off. The manager gives his players as much time off as he possibly can in the summer, but all their hands are tied.
“The players want time off, the national team want you to play, the manager wants you back for pre-season. But everyone does a great job here about trying to manage our rest time in the summer. There’s a part of it that when you play so many games, you just become hardened to it. Every fifth or sixth day you feel ‘I’ve turned a corner and I’m fit and ready to play this game’.”
Meanwhile, Everton are bracing themselves for a bid from Bayern Munich for the services of Leighton Baines.
The German giants have twice sent scouts to watch the Toffees’ in-form left-back, and are ready to make an approach for him in January, although England international Baines is under contract until 2014, and David Moyes is unlikely to entertain the prospect of selling him to raise funds for a new striker.
