Gerrard focused on job

Paul Gerrard

FORMER Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard is only a month away from his Boundary Park exit — but you won’t hear of him complaining about his lot.

The Heywood-born 40 year old’s notice period at Athletic expires at the end of March.

But until then - starting with tonight’s bid to beat the club with whom he spent eight years from 1996, Gerrard will do everything he can to win.

“It is no secret my contract is up at the end of March, so I will be leaving,” said goalkeeping coach Gerrard - the only remaining member of former boss Paul Dickov’s first-team staff. He hasn’t yet spoken to chairman Simon Corney over a possible reprieve.

“When the lads (Gerry Taggart, Paul Butler and Lee Duxbury) got their notice I did too, but as it happened I had three months’ notice and the chairman asked if I could help Tony Philliskirk with the first team.

“I love this club and it is all about that. Even though I have been given notice, I will continue working as hard as I can to help.

“There are too many people out there who moan all the time. At the moment we are all doing what we can to keep things running as smoothly as possible.”

Gerrard, who is looking into alternative work from April, ideally wants to go return to goalkeeping coaching.

But now the focus is on Everton: “I enjoyed my time there and it is a great club,” said Gerrard.

“When manager David Moyes came in he had a clear plan of where he wanted to go. You can’t fault his record. He’s a great manager.”