Willie Kirk admitted his time at Everton has been an “evolution” after his side booked their place in November’s Women’s FA Cup final. 

The Toffees made light work of their semi-final at Birmingham City on Wednesday evening, securing a 3-0 win in Solihull to book a date at Wembley against either Arsenal or Manchester City.

Simone Magill fired home the opener on 44 minutes to put Kirk’s side on course. Nicoline Sørensen then bagged her first goal for the Club, touching home Ingrid Moe Wold’s cross on the hour mark, before substitute Valerié Gauvin slammed home a third in the 88th minute to see the Blues safely through. 

It ensured more tangible progress for Everton Women since Kirk's arrival as manager in December 2018, with the team also finishing sixth in WSL last season and winning both of their league games in 2020/21.

“We’re looking forward to the final,” Kirk said. “It is a big thing for the Club because we haven’t been to Wembley yet, despite previously winning the FA Cup and being in a couple of finals. 

“It’s where we want to get back to so we’re pleased to get there.

“My time at Everton has been an evolution. When I first joined we had to try to stay up, and then build a squad and a team that people wanted to join. 

“We’ve had to recruit properly because we’ve had a lot of top players in the past - and we needed to get that calibre of player back through the door.”

One of those players is summer recruit Gauvin, who joined from French side Montpellier in August.

Since arriving, the 24-year-old has wasted no time in settling in and has scored in three in her past four substitute appearances - including the winner in Sunday’s quarter-final at Goodison Park against Chelsea. 

But while Guavin is yet to feature in Kirk’s starting XI, the boss has hailed the spirit and hunger within the squad that’s seen them record four straight wins in all competitions.

“The performance wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good enough to get us a positive result.

“I said to the girls before the game that our biggest danger was ourselves. If we thought the job had been done because we beat Chelsea, that would’ve probably played a part in us losing the game. 

“When you look at Valerie I’m tempted to just keep her on the bench! She has got a fantastic goals-to-minutes ratio, that’s for sure. She is working hard in training and we’ve had to build her up slowly. 

“She is pushing Simone Magill, who has also had a fantastic start to the season. Everyone is pushing each other and they're all stepping up to the mark at the minute.”