In an exclusive column for evertonfc.com, Club Captain Dan Turner discusses the vibrant atmosphere at USM Finch Farm, her determination to build on a succession of exemplary performances, and the test West Ham United will provide in Sunday's WSL clash at Walton Hall Park....  

Everton is just a great place to be at the moment.

Both the men’s and the women’s teams have started the season so well and everyone is turning up with a smile on their face.

Both teams are feeding off each other and you can feel the buzz inside the Club.

All the girls saw when Dom [Calvert-Lewin] congratulated us on reaching the FA Cup final in his TV interview. Carlo [Ancelotti] did, too, and it’s just great to see.

It shows we do have that one-club mentality and we all want each other to do well.

There is so much belief and confidence in our squad. We feel like we’re flying at the moment.

Our togetherness has shown even when we’ve gone through patches in games when the other team has been on top. We’ve found a way to weather that storm and get through those periods.

That’s just by sticking together. That’s what we’ve done in every single game so far.

It’s been a busy, intense period of games.

We’re disappointed with our result at Manchester City on Wednesday [a 3-1 defeat in the Continental Cup] but we can’t let that defeat kill our momentum after five straight wins.

We’ve had a fantastic start to the season.

We’re looking forward to another important league game against West Ham on Sunday and we’re eager to keep our 100-per-cent record in the WSL going.

All the girls are looking very confident in training.

We brought in a number of new players over the summer and they have all settled in so well. They have been fantastic.

The girls that were already here deserve credit, too, for helping to create such a welcoming environment for the new signings

On a personal level, I feel like I’m playing some of the best football of my career.

I probably had my best season for Everton in the 2019/20 campaign in terms of consistency levels.

I’m quite critical of myself and I’ve got high standards but I was pleased with my form last year.

I wanted to build on that and I’m happy with the way I’ve started the season.

There are areas I want to improve, though, and I’m working on those. I still feel like I can add some more assists to my game, for example.

The players who have come in have helped raise everyone’s standards. The quality in training every day is so high.

I just want to be even better than last season and kick on and help the Club realise the ambitions we’ve got, which is to be in the top three in the WSL.

In three weeks, we’ll be at Wembley for the FA Cup final, which is something every young footballer dreams about.

You saw everyone’s reaction when we beat Birmingham to get to the final – how much it meant – and we’ve got an amazing occasion to look forward to.

But we’ve got two big league games coming up – the next game is always the most important one. That's our mentality.

Our focus is totally on West Ham on Sunday.

They’ve had a tough start to the season and are still looking for their first league win, so we know they’ll be fighting for that. They have got some very talented players. 

It will be a difficult game but we’ll go into it with a lot of confidence.

I'm a defender and we pride ourselves on clean sheets – we haven’t conceded a goal yet in the league and we want to continue that record.

As a collective, if we go out there and show what we can do, I know we’re capable of making it four league wins from four.