Moyes' Programme Notes For Spurs Visit

Good afternoon and welcome back to Hill Dickinson Stadium for today’s ninth Premier League match of the season.

The international break means it’s been three weeks since we were last here.

Since then, several players have been away and we have fulfilled a difficult fixture at Manchester City. We came away from the Etihad disappointed with the result but still felt there were plus points we could take from the game.

We went there with a real belief we could get something on the day. We were positive and created opportunities, especially in the first half. However, their quality in several positions ultimately proved to be too strong.

Undoubtedly, there is still a gulf between the top teams and where we are at present, but the road to recovery at Everton was never going to be a quick fix. We are still pressing all the right buttons to try to fast-forward that process. We want to be competitive and regularly challenge the best teams in the league. Our aim is to give you supporters belief and good reasons to be positive for the future.

Our last home game here saw us pick up three great points against a very strong Crystal Palace team. We celebrated a late goal which sent everyone home happy.

Afterwards, Oliver Glasner hinted at the noise inside the stadium, certainly in the second half, and I hope you supporters realise how important you are to the players and to everybody here. We hope we can produce the same kind of performance level from the start today.

During the international break we had some really positive news, with Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski signing new contract extensions.

From very early on in the summer, I always felt it was important to get Jarrad Branthwaite’s, Jordan’s and Tarky’s futures committed to us. Their strength has been really important to the team. They have all played big roles and justified their importance to the squad. I was also pleased we were able to go about our business in the correct fashion.

Getting a trio of that importance tied down has given the Club more stability, which we’ve been hoping for for several years. We want to look after all of the players here in the right way and help them to feel Everton is the right club to be at.

There was further good news when Jordan broke Gordon Banks’ clean-sheet record with England during the international break. That is a great achievement.

To get closer to the teams at the top end of the Premier League table we need to be the very best we can be in every area of the Club. Hopefully doing that will help us to grow. At the moment small gains for us can be enormously important.

We are not at the financial levels of some of the teams above us but we are all working hard together to close those levels and reach the standards we would expect from any Everton team.

Unfortunately the good news we received on Jordan and Tarky was tempered by a setback for Jarrad Branthwaite. Jarrad’s injury had fully healed and he was back in full training, but he still felt a bit of discomfort. After seeing a specialist again it was decided the best thing to do was to have a small operation.

We hope he won’t be out for too long because obviously he is a hugely important member of our team, and to be without him for such a long period was not what we expected. We wish him well and hope for a speedy recovery.

Today we welcome Thomas Frank and his new Tottenham team to Hill Dickinson Stadium. They have been impressive since the start of the season.

Thomas has worked incredibly hard over the years at Brentford and has earned his chance at one of the traditionally ‘big’ clubs in England. I know Thomas well and always felt he would find himself making that step up.

Spurs have had a strong away record this season and we will need to play really well today to keep our own strong home record intact. We continue to enjoy good results here at our new stadium but none of us can get complacent.

We need energy from the stands. We understand you will still be getting used to different seats and still finding your way around, but we now have more than 14,000 extra Evertonians in here. We want you to be heard, we want you to be vocal and we want you to continue to make this start at our new home something we can keep talking about.

We understand our role is to play well, to continue to make progress and build on a positive feeling around our club. 

Enjoy the game.

David