Everton Under-21s Head Coach Paul Tait is confident his team can significantly improve their performance levels after kicking off their Premier League 2 campaign with a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on Friday.
Tom Cannon and Sean McAllister scored either side of half-time to ensure Tait’s first competitive game in charge of the Under-21s ended in victory at Southport FC.
The young Blues return to action on Friday night when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur (7pm).
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Tait has urged his players to build momentum following the opening-day win and believes they will go from strength to strength as they build towards optimum fitness.
He told evertontv: “The result was really good and it was very important for the lads to get that belief and confidence.
“Hopefully they can carry that confidence into the Tottenham match.
“It was only the first game, and we’re not quite where we want to be physically yet. To play the way we want to, we’ve got to be really fit. We just dropped off a little after we got that 2-0 lead. We feel we could have gone after another goal and pressed higher up the pitch.
“I asked the players at the end of the game what they thought of the performance and they said, ‘We can be better, and we have to be better’.
“We defended well and our low build-up was really good, and the switches of play were good.
“I think we could have played through midfield a lot better and opened them up more through the middle of the pitch. I feel we could have got forward down the sides more and got crosses in.
“There is loads to work on but, on the whole, it was a positive start.”
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Tait explained how goalscorers Cannon and McAllister got their just rewards for their application on and off the ball.
“Tom worked tirelessly,” he said.
“He put us ahead and also pressed and regained the ball for the second goal. We’re really happy with his work-rate and it’s great he’s scored in the first game. He’s off and running now
“With Sean, I see him in training every day and he’s a goalscorer.
“He can score from anywhere around the box. He’s two-footed and he’s another hard worker. I was delighted with him.”
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