WATCH: Boss Silva's Message To Holgate

Marco Silva says Mason Holgate's recent game time is a deserved reward for the defender's application on the training ground at USM Finch Farm.

Holgate approached his manager earlier this season for advice on where he needed to improve to break into the Everton first team.

The 23-year-old scored his first Everton goal in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Watford – three days after starting in the Premier League for the first time this season, against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Silva, who revealed Yerry Mina’s knee problem is “nothing serious” and the centre-back retains a chance of facing Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, nevertheless insisted the “talented” Holgate boasts the ability and potential to significantly improve.

Talking exclusively to evertontv, Silva also vowed to continue steadily introducing Moise Kean into English football after the teenage forward played the opening 45 minutes against Watford.

Holgate spoke to Silva during the season’s first international break in September to determine how he could force his way into Everton's starting XI following the centre-half's successful loan at West Bromwich Albion last term.

“It is my job to get the best from the players,” said Silva.

“But, in the right moment, to give them the right feedback as well.

“Mason understood our defensive idea really well from the first day I came.

“He is a clever player.

“But it is one thing if you know [what is required], another if you practice every single day.


“Mason came to my office not just because he wasn’t playing, he wanted to know what he should do in a different way to improve.

“It is easy for Mason to understand the job we have been doing with the central defenders since we [Silva and his staff] joined the Club.

“We will do the same with Mason.

“Sometimes it is up to them to work every single day in the way I think is best to perform and develop football players.

“Mason has a very good profile as a central defender, in my opinion, he has the talent and quality.

“He understood what I said and all the credit is to him for the good games he is having.”

On where he instructed Holgate to improve, Silva said: “[I told him] to be more focussed in every single moment of the training sessions, from the first minute to the last.

“And the other thing was to be a defender in some moments in the training sessions.

“Your job is to be a defender, so be a defender – put your quality in the game when it is the moment to do that.

“Mason on the ball is a very good player, he knows how I like central defenders with the quality to play.

“But… he is a defender and a defender has to command.

“He has to clearly know our idea, our defensive idea – and get that on the pitch every single day.


“We spoke about many, many things but I want to see him coming to Finch Farm every day to try to improve.

“He is trying to do that and it is nice to see.

“He deserved not just a good performance [against Watford] but his first goal in a blue shirt was, I am sure, a fantastic feeling for him.

“We will see him confident in the next few days and games…. but there are many, many things to improve in his game.

“There is more to come from him because he has the quality.”

Italy international Kean started his fourth Everton game against Watford following a summer transfer from Serie A champions Juventus.

He was employed in the same wide position he occupies on international duty but replaced at half-time by Theo Walcott.

“All the minutes Moise plays will help him understand English football,” said Silva.

“Of course, age is not the most important thing in football… but he’s a young boy, first time in the Premier League, first time out of his country.

“We have to keep supporting him. Of course, if he started the game against Watford it was because he showed me during the training sessions he was able to do that.


“He is working hard and using every single minute in the training sessions to show his quality.

“Playing out wide, playing as a striker – both positions are where he can play. In the past few weeks he has worked with us more out wide and he’s playing in the national team out wide also.

“But he is able to play as a striker and we are able to give him all the support [he needs]. In the meantime, we have to take care of him as well.

“All the minutes he plays will help him learn and adapt to the Premier League as fast as he can.”

Everton clash with Tottenham this weekend aiming for a third Goodison victory on the spin.

Silva’s side have won eight and drawn one of their past 11 home games, keeping eight clean sheets and scoring 18 goals.

The Blues overcame Watford with a quick and aggressive second-half performance, in the image of the display which proved too hot for West Ham to handle in L4 a fortnight ago.

And Silva, who also reflected on Everton pulling Leicester City out the hat in Thursday’s League Cup quarter-final draw, admits the challenge for his side now is to consistently reach those heights.

“It is our main goal to be more consistent as a team… all the games have to be big learning experiences for us, a chance to look at the things you should improve to the next game," said Silva.

“We have the experience in our team to achieve that.

“The last Premier League game [against Brighton] was a big, big learning experience for us.


“We should have managed the final 10 minutes in a different way.

“Against Watford, we managed everything in a different way, with more patience, and that has to be a big learning curve for us.

“Our tie against Leicester will be really difficult but when you play in a quarter-final you expect a tough game.

“It is a difficult team for us to face – but difficult for them, too.

“The good thing is we are playing at home.”

Colombian Mina hobbled off before half-time against Watford after returning from the knee compliant which ruled him out at Brighton.

On the 25-year-old's chances of facing Spurs, Silva added: “Like I said after the match on Tuesday, it [injury] is nothing special.

“He has been examined again and there is nothing really serious there. He has a small pain so let’s see in the next few hours, the next few days, if he will be able to play.”