Ashley Cole has revealed the collective work being made by Everton’s coaching staff and players to focus on key improvements during their mid-season trip to Australia.
The Blues arrived Down Under last week to take part in the Sydney Super Cup, beating Celtic on penalties after a goalless draw at Accor Stadium on Sunday.
Frank Lampard’s men also face A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers at CommBank Stadium on Wednesday (7.45pm AEDT/8.45am GMT), while the tour has been used to interact with Aussie Evertonians and fans who have clocked up the miles to watch their team in action.
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Regular training sessions have been integral to the squad’s time away together, too, with Everton’s coaching staff working with available players who are not injured or competing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Cole said that has included looking at attacking patterns of play as the Blues strive to be more productive in the final third.
“We’re so focused on working on training and coming up with the ideas because goals win games,” said the First-Team Coach. “We are trying new ideas out on the training pitch and hopefully we see the benefits in the next game.
“We are always striving for the best and to perform at a high level. The back end of last week was a difficult time for us but it’s been a great opportunity to come here, meet fans, play against good opposition and focus on what we have been trying in training.
“The focus is on us but we are a very determined group of staff and, of course, we always strive to be better.”
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Cole is looking forward to Everton getting more match action against Western Sydney Wanderers.
Wednesday’s hosts have made a solid start to their A-League campaign, taking 13 points from their opening six matches to sit second in the table.
Cole is hoping for another vibrant atmosphere at CommBank Stadium after “a brilliant turnout” from Evertonians against Celtic in a match which saw Lampard’s side edge the Scottish champions 4-2 on penalties.
“It was good, a beautiful setup,” added the former England left-back on Sunday’s encounter. “It was a great atmosphere from both sets of fans. There were more than 40,000 of them which was great and a brilliant turnout from our fans. It was a great experience for our younger players to get to see that.
“The squad have enjoyed the tour. Being back in England, you don’t always have time to interact with fans as much because the focus is on business but the chance to come here and meet fans from Australia and get to see a beautiful city, it’s been a good experience.
“We’ve heard a lot about Western Sydney Wanderers and the atmosphere the stadium can generate. We know they are doing well in the A-League and have some good individual players. As staff, we will make preparations ahead of the game.”
