Stekelenburg Happy To Be Back

Maarten Stekelenburg says it felt good to be back between the sticks for Everton. 

The Dutchman made his first appearance since suffering an injury in December and kept a clean sheet as the Blues drew 0-0 at West Ham United on Saturday. 

Stekelenburg has had to bide his time since returning to fitness but says maturity has taught him how patience is a key part of being a goalkeeper. 

“It’s nice to be back in the team. It’s been a while, four months, so it’s good to be back,” he told evertontv. “I’m a little bit older now and with a little bit more experience, so basically it’s just about keeping on training as good as you possibly can and hope your chance comes. Today that was for me. 

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“It’s the fate of a goalkeeper - you play or you don’t play and there’s no in-between. That’s why it’s good to be back.

“It’s nice to have a clean sheet, especially for a goalkeeper, but the game itself, I think we have to forget it. It’s a bad game from us and we’ve done a lot better in previous games. We didn’t lose, so that’s a good thing but you want to look up. We wanted the three points today.” 

Stekelenburg will be hoping he has done enough to retain his place, with Everton’s next game a massive home fixture against Premier League leaders Chelsea at Goodison Park next Sunday.

He added: “The opponent is different and Chelsea have a lot of quality but if we get back on our game from the last couple of weeks and months, I think the match will be a lot better than this one.”