Hello everybody and welcome back to Goodison Park.

First and foremost, I cannot wait to see the stadium full of supporters this afternoon.

It’s been a long time coming and I am sure as well as being a fantastic atmosphere, it will also be quite emotional.

We’ve lived through an unbelievable 17 months or so and as we appear to be edging back to normality, a packed Goodison Park will certainly be a welcome sight.

I just hope we can give you the positive start to the season that we all want.

The opening games of the season are generally very difficult to call and although it’s nice to be at home on the first day for the first time in four years, we are taking nothing for granted.

Southampton have always been a tough opponent for us and today will be no different.

As always, there will be some new faces for you to cheer on this afternoon and, at the time of writing, the three lads we’ve brought in have all settled very quickly.

Asmir, Demarai and Andros know what the Premier League is all about and they’ve each shown already what they are capable of. I am looking forward to key contributions from all three of them this season.

The week-long trip to the USA was a great way for them to integrate into the squad.

It was a challenging time for us because our movements were very restricted due to the pandemic but at least that gave the new boys the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the company of their new teammates.

It’s also, of course, the manager’s first competitive game for the Club this afternoon and I am sure Evertonians will show their usual class and give Rafa Benitez a warm welcome at Goodison Park.

The wonderful support from our fans was one of the reasons why I was so delighted to sign a new contract a couple of weeks ago.

This football club meant a lot to me very quickly when I first came over from Ireland and I have loved every minute of my time here.

As always, my remit is to reward the fans with something tangible. I never hide behind the fact that I am desperate to win some silverware with Everton.

I owe so many people so much gratitude and to win something would be the perfect payback.

From the Chairman, who has always been great to me and my family, and all the staff and the fans who have supported and helped me along the way, I will be doing absolutely everything I can to try to make this a successful season.

Welcome back to Goodison, it’ll be great to see you all and I hope you enjoy the game.

Seamus

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