Kevin Campbell urges Dominic Calvert-Lewin to grow a ‘thick skin’ to deal with Everton boo boys
Kevin Campbell has told Dominic Calvert-Lewin that he will need “a thick skin” to deal with Everton supporters.
Calvert-Lewin scored his first Premier League goal of the season on Saturday [23 September] to help Everton to a 3-1 win at Brentford.
Speaking after the game, the Eng international took a slight swipe at Toffees fans as he pointed out that he was jeered against and Aston Villa just last month.
The 26-year-old is very much loved by the Everton faithful, though, and Campbell says DCL will be feeling on top of the world once again after his goal in West London.
Asked how a striker can best deal with supporters during tough times, Campbell told Sky Sports News [27 September, 10:25]: “A thick skin.
“You need a thick skin. If you want to be that number nine, you’ve got to take the good with the bad and also take the ugly.
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“Coming off at Villa when he did his cheekbone, it looked like the whole world was falling down. He’s struggled with injuries and couldn’t stay fit
“But that feeling of coming on and scoring a first Premier League goal of the season to help the team win makes a massive difference to the confidence.
“You hear fans cheering your name. That is the balance – sometimes it’s imbalanced, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be feeling like a king right now.”
Cynical nature of football
It was interesting to hear Calvert-Lewin point out at the weekend that he was jeered by some of those same supporters who were cheering him against Brentford.
Football is a cynical game, with a player going from hero to zero and back again all the in the space of a few games in some instances.
The small number of jeers against Villa can be put down to supporters’ frustrations that Calvert-Lewin was simply unable to catch a break, particularly in a time when the team desperately needed his goals.
On the back of his well-taken goal against Brentford after being introduced as a substitute, the hope now is that he can stay injury free and build some momentum.
The fans know better than anyone that if Everton are to stay clear of relegation trouble as this season goes on, then Calvert-Lewin will be a key factor in that.
Let’s hope those boos are now very much a thing of the past.
In other Everton news, some early team news has emerged ahead of the EFL Cup tie with Aston Villa.
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