Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell: I’ll only look back on last season with a sense of frustration

Jack Rodwell, Everton (Getty Images)

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Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell insists that he is frustrated with the way last season panned out, and hopes that the coming campaign brings him better luck.

The 20-year-old battled ankle, groin and hamstring injuries while the Toffees failed to attain European football as they finished seventh in the Premier League.

“I’ll only look back on last season with a sense of frustration,” Rodwell said, according to the Daily Mail.

“The couple of seasons before that, I had felt as if I had done really well. I’d played in a lot of games and I had tended to play in age groups ahead of the ones I was in. It’s been a fast progression.

“But last season, I just stopped still because of one thing and another. When I have been out of the team, I haven’t been able to get back in. I just hope it’s finally behind me now and I am looking forward to next season already.”

Th England Under-21 midfielder also suffered form-related problems at some points during the previous campaign, but admitted that skipper Phil Neville taught him how to deal with disappointment.

“I’m a strong person and I can motivate myself to keep focused when I’m not in the team,” Rodwell said. “There are a lot of senior pros to look up to. Phil Neville has been great in terms of the pointers he has given me. He’s told me what to do and when to do it when I have been injured, how to deal with any frustrations I have had when I have not been picked.”

Rodwell is currently with the U-21 side, participating in the European Championship tournament in Denmark.