Branthwaite Reveals Key Moyes Tactic & Confidence Boost

Jarrad Branthwaite believes Everton’s impressive form has built “confidence and momentum” amongst the squad – and he says the Blues have benefitted from working on their attacking play in recent weeks.

Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace marked the Toffees’ fourth win in six Premier League matches since David Moyes’ return to the Club.

Those triumphs over Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City, and now Palace have instilled a belief within Moyes’ men, who – according to Branthwaite – are working hard to maintain their positive run of form.

“It's a brilliant feeling,” he said after the weekend’s win at Selhurst Park. “I'm just buzzing we got the result. Obviously, we didn't play our best but if you can win games when you're not playing your best, it's a good sign.

“I think it shows the momentum we're building as a team, and I think we've just got to keep grounded and keep working hard every day and listen to the manager and see where that takes us.

“Everyone's confident. We've had tough spells over the season. I think we've got to enjoy this now, but we've got to remember how it feels.

“We've got to keep wanting that feeling after every game, so I think that means working hard every day on the training pitch to give ourselves the best possible chance with every game that comes.”

Despite injuries to a host of Senior Team players – Iliman Ndiaye, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Orel Mangala, Seamus Coleman, Dwight McNeil, Armando Broja, Nathan Patterson and Youssef Chermiti – Saturday saw a reduced Everton squad managing to battle on towards a second-consecutive away win.

The result also followed Wednesday’s hard-fought Merseyside derby, when the Toffees were involved in a fast-paced and feisty affair of 100 minutes in a dramatic 2-2 draw.

“I think the midweek game was massive,” Branthwaite continued. “It took a lot of energy out of all our players and we're quite thin on players at the moment.

“We have a lot of players out with injury, key for players as well so to come down here and pick up three points, it's massive and I think it's a difficult place to come, as well.”

Everton have scored 12 goals in their six league matches since Moyes’ appointment – just three fewer than their total for the previous 19 games.

Now unbeaten across their past five league outings, developing Everton's offensive threat has been a big focus since Moyes’ arrival, explains Branthwaite.

“I think before he came in, we had that defensive resilience, the structure and I think he's maybe brought in the bit of attacking flair, attacking knowledge and structure,” he added.

“Everyone knows the positions to be in and we're creating loads more chances. I think you can see that throughout the games that he's been in charge.

“We're working on different positions for the attackers and different runs to make to open the defence and I think you can see it's working.

“The more times we get the ball in the box as well; we've got a bigger chance of scoring. I think that's something we've been focusing on – to put it in dangerous areas and see what comes from it. We're doing well so far, so let's hope it continues."