A delighted Gianfranco Zola shares his thoughts on a vital draw at Goodison Park...
You must be proud?I am. It was tough out there. We have had everything against us again. We lost Valon Behram in the warm-up and we went one-nil down. It was the only mistake we made in the first half but we never gave up. We came back and in the second half we equalised, we played well.
The last goal could have been a blow for everybody but we reacted and scored an equaliser straight away. It showed that we don’t give up for anything. That is the point. Don’t forget that Everton have beaten all the best teams at this ground and are a team on top form. What we did was not a simple thing.
Does it prove you were to right to carry on?
I have no thoughts other than the fact I am pleased for my team. It was a difficult situation but despite that we didn’t want to stop fighting. That is what we said to each other yesterday. No matter what, we fight til the end. I know there are things against us but we don’t give up and today was a perfect example.
Let me say, I am delighted for my staff. This week Steve Clarke, Kevin Keen, Antonio Pintus and Kevin Hitchcock have been working hard with the players, to keep them together, to cheer them up and to organise them for today. They did a brilliant job. I want to share everything with them.
Show of character? Make you more certain about what you are doing?
It is great encouragement for me and everybody. I wouldn’t say the last five games are a matter of life or death but it is very close. We know what football is like. We are determined to fight until the end. We are not going to leave anything in the bag.
Important to have time off?
It was very important. They came from playing three tough games in seven days - it was three defeats and two at home. You can imagine what their condition was and it was necessary for them to go and clear their minds and then come back to train hard.
Comments brought you together?
I don’t think that we have been… this team has been together. Sometimes we have made mistakes but we have been together. All the criticism probably made us stronger. We were together but it has made us stronger
Did you expect Parker to take penalty?
No. The penalty taker was Mido.
Way to respond?
At the end of the day what matters is what you do on the pitch. The players have shown that we only want to focus on football. Other things we can’t stop because people want to give opinions and judge us. But as far as we are concerned, we are 100 per cent concerned on football and have to make it right on the pitch.
Confident about avoiding relegation?
We are very much into it. No doubt about it. Getting a draw here today was very important because it will boost morale and give us strength and confidence for the next match.
Parker outstanding?
He has been very good. A leader, he is one of those who leads by example. We are going to miss him obviously but I am sure with this spirit everyone else will work harder to make sure his absence is not too big.
Mood in the dressing room?
It was a fantastic atmosphere. I am going to get drunk tonight!
Behrami?
A knee problem. He was doubtful before but he wanted to come here and try, but unfortunately he felt it again in the warm-up.
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