Hat-trick hero Dominic Calvert-Lewin spoke of his delight to play in Carlo Ancelotti’s free-scoring side as Everton cruised past West Ham United 4-1 in the Carabao Cup last 16 at Goodison.

The in-form striker took his tally to eight for the season with his second treble of 2020/21 as the Blues made it six wins from six since the campaign got under way.

Calvert-Lewin bagged the opener on 11 minutes when he raced on to Michael Keane’s long ball to coolly finish past Darren Randolph.

Following Robert Snodgrass’ leveller seconds after the interval and Richarlison’s deflected finish, the 23-year-old then got his hands on another match ball, reacting first when Alex Iwobi’s curled finish smacked the post, before slotting home Gylfi Sigurdsson’s pass from inside the area.

Everton have now scored 20 goals from their six matches so far this season and, naturally, Calvert-Lewin is loving being part of the winning run.

“I’m enjoying my football, which is the main thing,” said the forward. “You look at the chances being created and they are there for me so it’s my job to put them in the back of the net and I’m obviously enjoying being able to do that at the moment.

“We’ve got players who are capable of scoring from different areas of the pitch which is very important. When you’ve got that, it’s a helping hand from everyone on the pitch. A lot of my goals have been one-touch finishes so it’s about getting in the right areas and being the man to put them in the back of the net.

“I enjoyed all the goals as I had to think about what I was doing. It’s nice that what I’ve been working on – being more instinctive in the box and opposite movements – is coming off on the pitch.”

Calvert-Lewin backed up Ancelotti’s call to maintain their focus ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, while the Blues now have a Carabao Cup quarter-final to look forward to in December, with the draw for the last eight taking place on Thursday evening.

“We need to keep the right attitude,” said Calvert-Lewin. “We endured some tough spells in the game. They’ve come out for the second half and scored the equaliser straight away which is frustrating but I never felt we were in any danger and couldn’t win the game. It’s just important that we keep our consistency and don’t take our foot off the gas. Long may these wins continue.”

With Gareth Southgate set to his announce his latest England squad on Thursday, Calvert-Lewin was also asked about his hopes of getting his maiden senior call-up.

He added: “I’ve said many times before that it’s my dream to play for England but I can’t control that so I’m taking care of business at the moment to give myself the best chance to make the next step."