Former Bantams team-mate backs Pickford as England's long-term keeper

The former City loan keeper further cemented his position as the country’s number one with his 50th cap in the quarter-final heartbreak against France.

The landmark may feel like scant consolation for the fiercely-competitive Pickford right now but one old Valley Parade team-mate predicts there will be many more to come.

Ben Williams got to know Pickford better than most during the 2014-2015 campaign, which saw the then-Sunderland youngster make 34 City appearances.

And he can recognise the traits on the international stage that were evident in Pickford’s formative games with the Bantams.

“I see it when England concede a chance and he has a save to make,” said Williams. “He comes out and he’s rollicking defenders.

“He’s got a real desire to do well and keep the ball out the net. It sounds really straightforward but it’s such an important asset to have.

“He was a young kid when he was at Bradford, only 20, and his aim was to gain experience to get into the Sunderland first team.

“Since then, he was loaned to Preston, went back to Sunderland and did well and he’s kicked on probably more than he expected at that time.

“I’m sure he believed in his ability but if you’d sat him down at 20-21 and said he’d be England’s goalkeeper for the next 50 fixtures, hand on heart he’d have probably told you to shut up.

Jordan Pickford makes a save for City against Swindon (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“There were so many obstacles in his way to get to that point. But he’s cleared them all and improved his game in all aspects that he felt he needed to.”

Gareth Southgate has kept his faith in Pickford even when some have pointed the finger during Everton’s struggles in the Premier League. That backing, says Williams, is crucial for any goalkeeper.

“You need that faith and Southgate’s got that in abundance with him. It’s almost like a striker who may not be in scoring form at club level a few weeks before a tournament.

“Jordan plays for a club where he probably has to do more and is busier than the likes of Edison and Alisson.

“You are called into question more often so you’re going to concede more and have more mistakes just out of the law of averages.

But he’s been fantastic for England. I could count on one hand the number of times he’s made mistakes or been questioned.

“You’ve got players there playing week in, week out for the top clubs in England and in the Champions’ League. Jordan’s not done that.

“If anything, and it’s not a slight on Everton, but it’s quite a large step-up when he plays for England.

“You’ve got the pressure, the expectation of the nation and the longer it goes out with the wait from ’66 etc.

“He’s coped with it really well. He’s always had a great temperament but he really seems to be calming that down now and channelling it in the right way.”

Williams took Pickford under his wing during their time together in the City dressing room after Phil Parkinson signed the former Crewe keeper as back-up on the eve of the season.

“You can overcomplicate the game, positions can be overanalysed to the ‘nth’ degree,” added Williams.

“All I used to tell him was to keep doing what he was doing. Don’t get bored of doing the right things and you will build on that foundation.

“You’ll always make amazing saves. His distribution was ridiculous even then, his kicking was effortless and that’s a natural ability.

“He didn’t need to go and chase the game. He just wanted to build that calm base and level mentality and I really think he has got that now.”

Williams was warned by Parkinson that he would be the back-up to Pickford - playing mainly in the cup games which worked out well with the heroics against Chelsea and Sunderland.

But it meant he got a close-up view of the rapid progress that his rookie rival made in his seven months at the club.

“I was sat in the stand watching Pickers’ first game because I wasn’t registered in time to be involved on the bench,” he added.

“We played Coventry and won 3-2 but conceded from a couple of corners.

“If that was an element that teams saw as a weakness of a young goalkeeper then that’s what you’d get. They’d ruthlessly target that every single week.

“I’ve been in team talks where the managers have said that the keeper’s a vampire. He’s scared of crosses.

“They will try and exploit every weakness there is. But in the end was there anyone saying that Jordan struggled with corners? Not at all.

“He worked on that element of his game. He came and punched and put himself out there, which is not always easy to do when you’re not the biggest.

“It’s easy to say in hindsight how well he would go on and do but there are certain attributes that you need that he had.

Ben Williams offered some experienced guidance for Jordan Pickford (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“A lot of other people may have them as well but there are so many unwritten things you come across, the mentality side, dealing with pressure. You can’t really coach them, you just have to be able to do it.

“It’s good that he makes the regular saves look easy. It’s easy to take your eye off those and make a mistake in that split second.

“The game has changed massively in style with playing out from the back, for example.

“That’s why Jordan came to the forefront so quickly because he was so adept at doing that.

“The other goalkeepers around him, like Aaron Ramsdale for example, are more than happy playing out from the back now.

“Jordan’s already got that as well as the big tournament experience. He’s only 28 and he ticks every box that Southgate wants.”

Now 38, Williams runs a building company in his native Manchester, using the joinery diploma that he worked towards on his days off at City. He had an offer from Dundee to carry on playing but decided it was time to do something different.

"I could still go out there and play but do I want to have to move around again? My kids are in school and settled, so it becomes a really difficult, complex decision.

“I thought it was time to be in charge of my own destiny.

“I’ve got the same half dozen lads, brickies, plasterers and electricians that I work with all the time. I’ve got my own five-a-side squad, if you like, and you do have that element of camaraderie.

“If I didn’t have that at all and was working from home on my own or in an office doing a sales job I’d slowly go nuts.

“The fact that I’m outside and I try and wear shorts 12 months a year, it’s fairly close to a dressing-room environment and it really does help.”