Kenza Dali believes Everton Women have the potential to be one of the highest-quality squads in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, but now it’s a matter of bringing the talent together in order to bring results.

The Blues return to action this weekend when they travel to West Ham United for the first game of the year, after scheduled matches against Aston Villa and Chelsea postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Everton squad.

This is the third season Dali has played in English top-flight, having spent the previous two seasons with Sunday’s opponents.

She can see the standards of the league growing with every season, and highlighted the importance of players bringing together their own talent to serve the greater good of the team.

“The level of this league grows every season,” the France international told evertonfc.com.

“Perhaps three or four seasons ago you could have a team of individuals that are really good.

“However, today it is very difficult to make a difference alone.

“You can be the best player in the league, but collectively if you aren’t at 100 per cent then you’re going to lose.

“Every single game you have to be at the top level, you need to be strong collectively.

“It’s good because no result is guaranteed.

“For us this season, we have individual talent, really good players.

“If you watch us at training you would say, ‘Wow, this is a top three level team’.

“It’s now about making the individual talent serve the collective and that’s the hardest part of football.

“I think we are going to find the key to unlock this, I trust the process.

“We still believe we can go on and achieve something good this season.

“We can’t give up for the Club, the fans and ourselves.

“New year, new start, but the same objective as what we had at the start of the season.”

A win this weekend would put the Blues level on points with the Hammers, who currently sit eighth in the table.

The spoils were shared when the two sides met at Walton Hall Park in December, and Dali is expecting another tough game against her former side.

“We are going there for a win,” the 30-year-old continued.

“It will be difficult because West Ham are doing well this season.

“They are really solid defensively, we saw that with our game against them earlier this season.

“We are expecting a difficult game against a good team, one I believe is slightly more confident than us at the moment.

“However, for us it’s about building that confidence and that starts this Sunday.

“The team has changed slightly since I left there last year.

“Their coach has had more time to build the team in his own eyes which means they are strong defensively and try to break on the counter-attack.

“They are resilient, and they’ve been showing that every weekend this season.”

West Ham struck first in the 1-1 draw in December, however, Toni Duggan’s equaliser saw Jean-Luc Vasseur’s side burst into life in the final 15 minutes.

Dali knows the importance of the Toffees scoring first in upcoming matches in order to gain confidence and unlock the squad's full potential.

“We need to start our games by going ahead," she explained.

“I get the feeling that we are chasing the game a lot this season.

“If we’re being honest, this isn’t the season that we wanted so far.

“However, we are really confident in the way we want a fresh start this year.

“We want to show a new side to our game and I think West Ham is the perfect game for us to begin to show that, because they are a strong team.

“It’s going to be a battle so it’s up to us to show our fight.”

COVID-19 had disrupted the Everton’s return from the winter break, with numerous players affected by the virus.

The Everton midfielder vented her frustration as she explains the manager’s tactics were beginning to click on the training field before positive tests began to appear.

However, Dali adds that extra work has taken place to ensure the side are at their peak for a first match in five weeks. 

“The COVID-19 outbreak has had its impact on us, like a lot of teams in the league, but it came when the manager was beginning to work in his idea into the team," she added.

“That was frustrating for both him and us.

“It’s difficult, but it’s about how we turn a negative situation into a positive one.

“Bad things can happen all the time, but it’s how you react and adapt to it.

“As a group, we always say that we need to look at ourselves first before others.

“We all need to do more.

“We are still alive in the league and our objective now is to win as many games as we can.

“We are doing extra sprints in at training, longer than usual because we haven’t had a game at the end of the week.

“Everyone came back early from our holidays in December to build because we all have the desire to do better.

“I trust the process; I believe we are at a good level of fitness now as well.”

You can watch the Blues in action on Sunday from 3pm (GMT) on the FA Player by clicking here!