IT WAS a moment which defined the spirit in Everton’s camp, even at a perilously low ebb last season.

The Toffees’ last-minute equaliser at Sunderland's Stadium of Light in December prompted Phil Neville to sprint along the touchline pumping the air with his fists.

Skipper Neville, named in the match-day squad for the first time in three months as a substitute recovering from a knee injury, had been a visible presence throughout.

Seeming to mentally win every tackle and complete every pass, he celebrated Marouane Fellaini’s deserved 85th minute equaliser like he had provided the assist himself.

But for Neville it was indicative of how close the Everton team remained during a winter of injury misery which saw players dropping like flies, and sometimes training sessions with fewer than 10 first team regulars fit to participate.

The injuries had taken their toll, and the Blues were locked in the unfamiliar territory of the bottom half of the table.

Now as Neville prepares in Sydney with the rest of the Everton squad for a three-game tour of the East coast, he can afford to look back on that period with a rueful smile.

“What I learned through my time out of the team is that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing or not. You’re always part of it,” he says. “I went to every game and the manager didn’t panic. When the boys were out playing or warming up I spoke to him a lot, but he knew that we’d be fine as soon as we got everyone back.

“There were no knee jerk reactions to defeats or panicking. That took a lot of maturity and quality.

“Even someone as experienced as me was thinking “Dear me we have to get these injured lads back as quickly as possible” but there was no desperation coming from the manager at all. It was probably what kept us mid table rather than at the bottom.”