Good evening and welcome to Goodison Park for our Premier League match against Brentford. 

This is our third home game in the space of six days and our objective is to bring the intensity, work-rate and commitment to the cause that helped build such a strong connection with our fans and, with it, successive 2-0 victories against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. 

As encouraging and important as those wins were, it goes without saying we have already moved on and our full focus is on the challenge of delivering again today against an in-form Brentford side. 

At the same time, we also want to take confidence and make the most of the feelgood factor after our Merseyside derby win in midweek. I was delighted for everyone connected with Everton to get to enjoy a night like that and savour a victory that I know means so much to the blue half of the city. 

There are so many good people at this club. It’s been a challenging season, to say the least, but that was certainly a win for all Evertonians. After our loss at Chelsea two weeks ago, I asked our Toffees to rise and get behind us and, my word, have you done that. 

Your support for the Forest game was incredible, whilst the noise and support for the derby was off the scale and the reaction to the team’s performance was amazing. We all cannot thank you enough. 

You stood by us for a big win against Nottingham Forest, you did it again three days later, and our players responded with their performances. That mixture, that connection, is what I’ve constantly been trying to get here since becoming manager. It’s a long journey - and there’s still work to be done - but it’s really important we keep the stadium feeling like that because it’s such a powerful thing. 

Our players also deserve huge credit for the way they have rolled their sleeves up and shown how much we all care about Everton. The energy of the side, the commitment, team shape and tactical understanding were all in place against Liverpool. I thought we defended fantastically as a team and everyone putting in the hard yards was key to producing a third straight clean sheet on home soil, which is very pleasing. 

We then had two quality moments to get our goals, once again showing our real threat from set pieces. There were plenty of impressive displays throughout the team - Jordan producing some crucial saves yet again – while I thought Dom was excellent along with a whole group aligned to work for each other. 

I commended Dom after the game because it was a top performance against a top side. He was once again willing to do what I call the ugly stuff - working so hard to keep the ball in the opposition half - and then looking a threat for chances which brought its reward with our second goal. 

I’m really pleased for him and the rest of the team to see them continue to produce the hard yards, stay committed, and get their rewards. 

We welcome Thomas Frank, his players, staff and everyone connected to Brentford. Thomas is someone who I have had the pleasure of his company and have a lot of respect for, and he continues to deserve a lot of credit for his key role in getting Brentford to the Premier League and then making them a competitive top-flight side.

They have had their own challenges this season but come into this evening’s fixture unbeaten in their past five matches so we are well aware of the threat they pose. 

The priority for us is to remember those key elements behind our two recent home wins - and do it again. 

Our work is not done this season. We have fought so hard in the past week to change the narrative and, with you behind us, we have to continue to do that today. 

Enjoy the game, 

Sean