Good afternoon everyone.

It has been a positive start at Goodison Park, with our team winning all three matches, but the message to the players is we need to continue the same way.

This means consistently trying to improve every aspect of our performances and always aiming for maximum effort.

The international breaks can be complicated, especially early in the season when you are working to develop understandings on the field and build momentum.

But the two weeks between matches helped us with the recovery of some important players. It is difficult to manage for a long time with key components missing from the squad.

The other issue when you have injuries is you have to overload some of those who are fit and we suffered a little bit because of this.

But we have to be pleased with how we adjusted in the past two games.

The players went to Old Trafford to face Manchester United with no fear and completely committed to the plan to try to win the match.

Every one of them was sacrificing and working so hard for the team – but also showing the quality to attack and create chances.

I don’t like to concede the first goal but nearly every time it happened this season, the reaction was positive.

In the five matches when our opponents scored first, only once after 90 minutes were we still losing.

It shows the characteristics of this side, the strong spirit and desire to compete and win.

We went behind against Manchester United in a period when we were having most of the opportunities.

That is tough to take in any game and even more difficult when the opponent a top team. But the players kept faith in the plan and each other and got the point that was the minimum they deserved.

I know you appreciate the players fighting on the pitch and giving everything they have for our club.

Perhaps the confidence dipped a little at the end of last season. But now the mentality is what you expect.

The way you are reacting to the performances is giving the players the energy to keep running and helping them stay focused.

This connection between you and the team can be a big advantage for us.

When a team is doing quite well, there is always a temptation to talk about some of the individuals. Maybe the guy scoring most of the goals or the keeper if he is making a lot of saves.

But what we are doing is because of the effort of every single one of them.

The players coming from the bench are ready to help the team. The ones not playing are showing the right attitude at the training ground every day, which maintains a good spirit and ensures the sessions are competitive and at a high level.

It has been the same in the past two weeks. It can be hard when some players are away and others are tired and need some rest.

But when we were on the training pitch, the intensity and concentration were really high. Everyone is trying to get better and wanting to show the manager he can play.

We welcome David Moyes and the staff and players of West Ham United.

Everybody can see the quality of the job David is doing for West Ham. They are playing in Europe after their consistency last season and they recruited cleverly in the summer market.

West Ham have a good balance. They are disciplined and competitive but also have speed and strength and invention in the attacking positions.

In our last match at Goodison, against Norwich, we were organised and aggressive and stayed focused and calm when they were pushing for an equaliser.

Our position in the table was good before this weekend but still we are not paying too much attention to that.

All it tells us is that we have been doing a lot of good things at the beginning of the season.

The players are working to make the changes we want and already there are some improvements. After some of the early matches, I said our decision-making in the final third could have been more efficient.

When we scored against Manchester United, it was from a counter-attack where every player made the right choice.

That was a result of practise and the belief and confidence growing in the team.

But there is still so much work to do and the process will happen little by little.

We will try our best to take another small step forwards today.

Finally, today is our official No Room For Racism fixture and we are united at Everton in fully supporting this initiative. Our All Together Now campaign underlines Everton's commitment to embracing equality and diversity in sport and society.

We all have a responsibility to keep fighting against discrimination and hate and I am very proud to work for a club where everybody is welcome.

Enjoy the game,

Rafa Benitez