I have never witnessed anything like the scenes that greeted us at Goodison Park before Sunday’s match with Chelsea.
Every one of us on the coach was buzzing. You could see the passion in the fans’ faces, the chanting and the banging on the bus and the flares generated a special atmosphere and they then sustained it right through the game.
The manager has created a strong bond between the players and supporters.
He is up for the fight, you can tell he already loves the Club so much and he loves the fans.
You could see in our performance against Chelsea the energy the fans gave the players.
There is no team talk better than what we saw arriving at the stadium.
We already knew how much Everton means to the supporters – but it is different when you see those feelings demonstrated so openly and intensely.
The whole occasion, the way the fans pushed us over line, lifted the mood around the whole place and can provide momentum going into these final five games.
For all the euphoria following the final whistle against Chelsea, we still have a lot of work ahead to ensure we’re playing Premier League football next season.
We enjoyed the win for one day but the focus quickly turned to Leicester on Sunday.
It seems we’re in a straight fight with Burnley and Leeds United to avoid finishing in the final relegation spot.
Of the three teams, we are holding the strongest hand. Yes, we’re 18th right now and psychologically want to climb out of the bottom three as soon as possible.
But we have the extra game to play, so it is in our hands, and we are full of confidence and belief after beating a quality side in Chelsea.
Our away form has been a long way short of what is expected at this club. We are running out of time to address it but have two games in quick succession to improve the overall picture, with a match at Watford coming three days after Leicester.
The recent away performances have been better, we have been tighter defensively and more threatening going forward. But the key to achieving the results we need is finding a way to replicate the intensity, togetherness and quality from our home games.
Leicester play good football and have some excellent players, especially going forward.
They kept the ball very well in the first half when we played them at Goodison a couple of weeks ago.
But we improved after half-time and came back strongly. The idea this weekend is to get on top of them from the start.
We’ve adjusted our mindsets to fit the current situation.
You never want to have to get used to a position near the bottom, but it is important to prepare mentally and manage the pressure.
We’ve tweaked our approach on the field, to focus purely on getting results.
The manager’s favoured style is to pass from the back but we have to do everything we can to stay in the league.
That means avoiding unnecessary risks in possession and getting our quality attacking players on the ball in the final third.
If we get through and survive, next season will be very different.
Richarlison and Jordan Pickford attracted the majority of headlines after Chelsea. The saves from Jordan had all the ingredients to be called world-class. They were outstanding in their own right, but to produce them when we were protecting a lead, in a game of that magnitude, tells you about his quality.
Richie is a massive player for us. He is unpredictable for defenders because of his ability to go either way and capable of scoring every type of goal.
Above all, his work ethic is second to none.
They were both vital to a victory that was a result of the whole club coming together.
The fans made a huge difference and we will be grateful for whatever they can do over the next couple of weeks.
If we stick together, we have a very good chance of keeping our club in the Premier League.
