Carlo Ancelotti says his Everton team must deliver a performance rich in “spirit, motivation and sacrifice” when the Blues welcome 6,500 fans back to Goodison Park for Wednesday’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers (6pm BST).
The Italian – who added he is savouring experiencing the vocal backing of Evertonians again – also outlined the Club’s collective ambition to “improve the quality” of the squad in the summer transfer window, confirming a wide attacker will be one of the Toffees’ targets.
Everton head into the clash with Wolves aiming to deliver an instant response following a disappointing defeat to Sheffield United on Sunday.
“We need to show the fans a good attitude and a good spirit,” said Ancelotti. "The supporters at the stadium will give us more motivation and support.
“It will be another atmosphere. I remember my first game as manager at Goodison Park [against Burnley in December 2019] and it was an outstanding atmosphere.
“Finally, I can say we have the fans back, and we are coming back to play football with emotion and passion.
“We played in the Premier League with our fans at Goodison in December, we had only 2,000 supporters but we were able to win the two games against Chelsea and Arsenal. I’m sure they are going to support us.
“We don’t have a lot of possibility [to qualify for Europe], but we can have the dream only if we are able to win our next two games.
“I don’t want to talk a lot, because we are so disappointed for the game on Sunday. We can only do one thing – to show a great reaction and use our spirit and attitude.”
Everton will be aiming to finish their season at Goodison on a high following a succession of poor home results.
The Blues’ record at the Grand Old Lady is in stark contrast to their away form. Everton have won 37 points on the road this term – a total bettered by only Manchester City, Manchester United and Leicester City.
Ancelotti revealed he spent the day after the Sheffield United result analysing what he describes as the “double face” of his Everton team.
“It is difficult to explain why we were so good away and so bad at home,” he said. “The run at home has been unacceptable.
“Away, we showed strong spirit and sacrifice. When we are forced to sacrifice and be focused, we did so well. When we're not so focused or sacrificed, we had a lot of problems.
“I looked yesterday [Monday] and we planned 21 league games to be strong defensively, to use counter-attack and to be strong on set-pieces. Of these, we won 14.
“In the other 15 games, we tried to play a little bit different – build up [from the back], put more players in front and put more players between the lines. Of these, we won only two. Maybe this is the reason.
“To judge the season, we can do a better analysis next week. If have to analyse today, the regret is we lost a lot of opportunities.
“It is true we fight for the European positions but, if we are not able to reach that, it will be regret, because we had opportunities.”
Asked about the Blues’ summer transfer plans, Ancelotti spoke of the importance of bolstering his squad but without needing a “revolution”.
“We had a good plan last season, when we signed good players,” he added. “We have to do that again.
“We don’t need to do a revolution. Absolutely not.
“Of course, we have to improve the quality of the squad for next season, but you can play football in different ways.
“It is true I won a lot of trophies. But I don’t know how many I won for the quality, [compared to] the spirit, sacrifice, concentration and personality.
“It is not only a matter of quality. But, I agree, the quality of the team will have to improve.”
When quizzed on whether adding a new winger to his squad will be a priority, Ancelotti added: "It is one of the positions we are looking for. It is true.”
