Willie Kirk paid tribute to his squad depth after Everton Women ended a busy spell of five games in 15 days with a 3-1 win over West Ham to preserve their perfect start in the WSL this season.

The Blues made it four straight league victories by seeing off the Hammers at Walton Hall Park on Sunday, Nicoline Sorensen grabbing the opener before a late double from Lucy Graham sealed maximum points.

The result leaves Everton second in the table, behind Arsenal only on goal difference, and boasting an impressive start to 2020/21 which has also seen them book an FA Cup final date against Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday 1 November.

During their 15-day playing spell, Kirk called on every member of his 20-player squad to bag league wins over Aston Villa and West Ham, as well as cup victories against Chelsea and Birmingham City.

And while a 3-1 defeat came against holders Manchester City in their Continental Cup group opener, Kirk believes being able to use the full array of talent in his squad shows the quality he now has at his disposal.

“When we reflect over those 15 days, we’ve had four wins and learnt a lot from the game we didn’t win,” said the Blues manager. “It’s a fantastic effort from the group. Every single player from the squad of 20 has been on the park during those 15 days and that shows you how important the squad is and the depth we’ve got.

“I was conscious to make sure during the summer that we had a squad good enough to mean we could make changes every game and wouldn’t weaken the team in every area. That’s what’s happened.

“Meg [Finnigan] is the only player who has played every minute, which is testament to her, but also testament to the group that we have made changes but not dropped a level.”

On the 3-1 triumph against West Ham, Kirk added: “It was a tough one. I thought we made hard work of it at times but a bit of tiredness was perhaps inevitable at the end of those run of games. I’m very proud of the group. We get a couple of days off now which is needed and then we build towards Brighton.

“We’re sitting at the top with Arsenal and we’re there to be shot at. Brighton will come here next week and give us another tough game. The season isn’t going to get any easier, that’s for sure, and these early experiences will be good.”

Kirk also reserved praise for his captain Graham who, a day after her 24^th birthday, came off the bench against West Ham to blast Everton back in front with a stunning 20-yard strike, before netting again in injury-time.

“Her output is fantastic, her consistent goals are fantastic and she is always a threat,” said Kirk, who previously worked with the midfielder at Hibernian and Bristol City. “Sometimes I think she goes under the radar in terms of how productive she is. She missed training the last two days but she came off the bench and produced that half hour where she’s basically won the game for us.”