Michael Keane now feels he really belongs at Everton.
Keane: “It has been an up and down journey but I’m starting to feel like I really belong here now.
“It’s been a good season for me, I’ve had a lot of good games. The team struggled for two or three months, the whole team was inconsistent and I was part of that but in general I think I’ve been really good.
“I’ve been working hard, training has been good, and I feel a lot fitter than I did last year so I think that’s helped me.
“I’m just feeling more confident than I have and hopefully I can show that from now until the end of the season.
“I’ve always had the belief in myself,” he added “but when things aren’t going well for you on the pitch you sort of lose a bit of confidence. But I’ve always had the belief that I’m good enough to play here.
It’s obviously a top-class club and you have to play well week in week out to prove that to the fans and to people at the club and I think I’ve managed to do that this season.
“But it’s not something I want to rest on, I want to keep kicking on. I’m still youngish for a centre-half and I’ve got a lot of learning to do still.”