Cenk Tosun wants to sustain the momentum he’s generated in his past two Everton appearances after listening to advice from Marco Silva.
Striker Tosun’s four club appearances this season have all come as a substitute but he is keen for an opportunity of any kind when Everton face Southampton this weekend.
The Turkey international came off the bench to power home his side’s stoppage-time equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday – five days after marking a brief cameo in the Carabao Cup tie with Watford by threading a pass for Richarlison to race clear and score.
And Tosun reckons his surge to form is the product of a can-do attitude, wedded to a steer in the right direction from Everton boss Silva.
“I have just kept working and had faith,” Tosun told evertontv.
“It is not easy, we are playing in the Premier League and have a really good team.
“We have to work more and more to get in the side.
“That is what I did and the manager gave me the opportunity – and I showed character and scored.
“We [Tosun and Silva] talk and after training he tells me what he wants from me, [which is] scoring goals, more work, more running, runs behind the defence and helping the team.
“I have been working on it [Silva's instructions] a couple of months and it is getting better now.
“I just go out to show my skills and what I can do.
“I really like to help the team and play with heart.
“It was great to help in the past two games with an assist and a goal.
“We have to make an impact when we come on.”
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Tosun has scored 10 times in 47 appearances – 23 starts – since joining Everton from Istanbul club Besiktas in January 2017.
Goal number 10, though, arrived nearly six months after his ninth strike, also against Spurs, on the final day of last season.
Context is applied to that statistic by the fact that prior to facing Watford, Tosun's action this season added up to 51 minutes across substitute appearances against Lincoln City and Sheffield United.
He created an ultimately decisive goal for Alex Iwobi at Lincoln but was relieved to chalk up a strike of his own last week.
Tosun's joy after heading past Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was nevertheless diluted by concern for midfielder Andre Gomes, who was injured earlier in the game.
“I have waited a long, long time and worked a lot in training and matches to get that goal,” said Tosun.
“It was a great feeling but I couldn’t enjoy it too much after the injury.
“It affected all of us and we were really emotional but we showed great team spirit.
“The goal and point were for Andre Gomes.
“If we could have played five more minutes we might have got the three points.
“We have to stick together now and also help Andre come back strong.”
Everton travel to Southampton on Saturday aiming for a third win in five games in all competitions – and a first on the road in the Premier League this season.
“I am always happy when I can help my team and I hope I can help in the next few weeks as well,” added Tosun.
“If I start or come on against Southampton I have to try to score or provide an assist.
“I will keep working and trying to score goals.”
