Leighton Baines says Everton's ambition was key to him signing new deal
Christian Atsu joins on loan and other signings like Romelu Lukaku shows Blues desire to reach top four
Everton defender Leighton Baines
While the Baines family lay on the beach soaking up the blazing Turkish sun, somebody was conspicuous by his absence.
Inside the hotel gym, Everton’s left-back was pounding the treadmill.
This was part of the short holiday the England international was able to take between World Cup duty for Roy Hodgson’s men and reporting back for pre-season with his club.
He should have had his feet up on a sun lounger, his favourite album playing on his ipod, but he couldn’t help it.
“My calves were screaming after one session,” admits Leighton Baines somewhat sheepishly. “I just thought I’d go in and have a light workout and I ended up going at it. It’s always the same. I probably did far too much to be honest.”
Perhaps supporters who admire the 29-year-old for, among other qualities, his ceaseless work-rate and first-class professionalism won’t be too surprised.
As far as the defender is concerned, those extra sneaky sessions when he should really have been relaxing may just help him run the extra mile this season.
And, according to Baines, they will be worth it – because this is the campaign that Everton could really make the step up to the big time.
“I feel alright,” he says. “Time-wise I didn’t have that long off so I had a little rest but I was in sporadically over the summer anyway because I didn’t want to de-condition too much. I was making sure I got a rest but kept ticking over as well.
“It’s the mental as much as the physical sometimes. Being able to switch off and get away is important but I wanted to be ready to hit the ground running.”
Baines – who started the ball rolling in January when he committed his future to Everton after a summer of speculation largely centring on Manchester United’s failed pursuit of his signature – reckons there is growing evidence of a club which is going somewhere.
“What the club has done lately is retain its best players,” he says. “Everyone here who has been linked with someone has stayed and committed to the club. The younger lads; Ross, Stonesy, Seamus have all been linked with clubs and they’ve all got their best football ahead of them, but they’re all happy to do it here. That’s as big as anything for me.
“The manager was telling me that’s what he wanted to do when I signed my contract.
“I signed following that summer of the whole United thing, but that was in their minds back then in terms of how to change the status and perception so we can keep hold of players when other clubs come calling.
“Since that with me, a few of the other lads have been talked about as going by the media but in all fairness none of them have been the slightest bit interested in playing anywhere else. You hear that from them. They are enjoying it here and they want to achieve what they can here.”
Baines feels that the Blues successful capture of Romelu Lukaku, in a club record deal worth up to £28m, only further underlines his point.
“It was a big statement,” he says. “Rom was linked to loads of clubs and I think the Chelsea fans would have liked to have him back there as well. So it was a brilliant signing for us. Everyone is back now and I think the gaffer will be working on another couple of things he wants to do, but it’s great to have Rom back and Gaz (Barry) as well.”
Being honest to a fault, the Kirkby-born left-back has never tried to hide his initial temptation at the prospect of playing in the Champions League at Old Trafford.
Leighton Baines chats with the Echo's Greg O'Keeffe
And although that possibility was effectively taken out of his hands when Everton refused to budge in the face of David Moyes’ botched bids 12 months ago, he certainly has no regrets.
“The main decision wasn’t really mine with United. It was further down the line when I signed a contract,” he adds.
“There’s two ways of looking at it, I could have just signed in the summer and it would have all nipped it in the bud straight away but it played out.
“Then I could have let it drag out and run into my last year then but I didn’t want to do that. Everything felt right and I wouldn’t have signed it if I wasn’t happy.
“I’ve got great relationships here and there’s a real sense of ambition with the manager. He’s not just happy to do what we did last year; which in another season could have got us in the Champions League. He wants better than that. It’s all moving in the right direction.”
Baines is one of the leaders in the camp at Everton. A wise-cracking, deep-thinking popular member of the squad who helps bind together the unmistakable dressing room togetherness.
And he believes it is the team-spirit here which can also help the club build on last season’s fifth place finish.
It’s not platitudes either. Tim Howard flew back from the USA last Sunday and was barely through customs at Manchester when he was preparing to play in pal Leon Osman’s testimonial despite his jet-lag.
“There’s that core group who have been here for a while,” Baines explains. “Ossie has been here for 10 years and Tim has been around for a large part of that.
“We would all want to be involved in Ossie’s game, which in essence it was. It was a nod to that spirit and it runs right throughout.
“It doesn’t take long for that to set in when you’re here for some reason. If you speak to someone like James (McCarthy) he’d probably tell you that the feeling comes quickly. You buy into it.
“Whatever it is there’s something about it.”
