Jonjoe Kenny has told EvertonTV that he made ‘difficult’ changes to prove he deserved his chance at Everton and show he warranted a bigger role amid an underwhelming campaign.
The full-back has lived much of the season on the periphery, but excelled in their win over Leeds on Saturday. Boss Frank Lampard handed the 24-year-old just his fourth start in five Premier League appearances so far this term against the Whites as a makeshift left-back.
Lampard was without natural left-back Vitalii Mykolenko and Everton’s accustomed backup Ben Godfrey against the Whites amid various injuries. As a result, Mykolenko only has one top-flight outing so far since his £17m January move from Dynamo Kyiv under Rafa Benitez.
Benitez seldom trusted Kenny during his tenure as Everton manager with the Blues product featuring for 176-minutes over 21 games. His two starts in three appearances also came on December 16 and January 2 with captain Seamus Coleman keeping Kenny from the line-up.
Kenny admits ‘difficult’ changes to prove he is ready for Everton chance
Kenny used his time out of the side to better himself and prove he warranted a greater role at Everton. The former England U21 defender admits his bid to remove any excuses proved to be a difficult exercise. But he wanted to assure the man at the helm that he was ready.
“I did a lot of extras outside football [while out of the team],” Kenny said. “Extra runs and crossing and passing, I try to look after my food and sleep. These little things might not mean so much [on their own] but they add up to little wins every day.
“I still don’t know everything. But it is working on me and trying to be the best Jonjoe Kenny I can. I knew my chance was going to come, just not when it would come, and wanted to make sure I was ready.
“I made everything down to me, changed what I needed to and tried to get rid of excuses, which is difficult. I didn’t want to be giving the excuse that I wasn’t ready or didn’t take my opportunity.”
Kenny certainly took his chance to put his adapted style into practice as Everton beat Leeds on Saturday. The Liverpool-born defender more than stood up to Lampard’s frantic need for a stand-in left-back as he battled relentlessly and showed his attacking potential.
Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa also withdrew Raphinha at the break, such was Kenny’s efforts to deny the Brazilian maestro. Raphinha has been the Elland Road natives’ talisman all term with eight goals and two assists. But Kenny left Bielsa having to search for an alternative.
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