Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin struggled for form at Goodison Park last season.
Schneiderlin endured a difficult time last campaign, when his form dropped and his attitude was criticised.
The Frenchman lost favour with Everton fans, who claimed that he wasn’t showing enough effort.
And Schneiderlin admits that he considered trying to make a move away from Merseyside.
However, after speaking with friends and family, Schneiderlin sat down with Marco Silva and told him that he wanted to stick with Everton.
“As well as my wife, I had a long chat with my best friends, my parents, my agent,” Schneiderlin said. “They are not the type of guys who say, ‘Oh Morgan, you are the most beautiful. Oh Morgan, you are the best.’ They say [honest] things to me. I agreed with them. I didn’t have the best season.
“It eats me like crazy because the most frustrating thing is that image is not myself. I am an honest guy who works very, very hard. I can have a bad game, or a bad performance, but putting that on me that I don’t give a s***, I don’t care — that is not who I am.
“I knew I had to work twice, maybe three times as hard as anyone else because I knew some people and some fans would see me in a different way.
“That is what I said to the manager. I said I was prepared to do that and that was what I have done.”
Schneiderlin has improved so far this season, with the former Manchester United man playing a key role at Everton.
The 28-year-old, who is on a £120,000-a-week contract with the Toffees (Daily Star), has featured in four games for Everton so far this term, with Silva’s side making a fairly encouraging start to life.
Schneiderlin is expected to start in Everton’s next game, which comes against West Ham United at the weekend.
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