Good evening, Evertonians.

Welcome to Goodison Park for tonight’s match against Liverpool.

The Merseyside derby is one of the most famous fixtures in football and to have it at such an iconic venue makes it that more special.

The Grand Old Lady. What a fantastic stadium.

I have experienced some matchdays with the men’s side and Evertonians deliver an incredible atmosphere. We are looking forward to our supporters recreating that level of enthusiasm tonight.

This fixture is a sentimental one for myself, too. It was the reverse fixture back in September when we secured our first points of the season on what was an incredible win at Anfield.

Looking back, we were not happy with our defeat a week leading up to the derby, so the girls were that much more determined to deliver a result and kick-start our season.

Every player was eager to make amends and they did just that with an outstanding performance.

The travelling support was fantastic that evening. We all fed off the energy you gave us.

I look back on that night with real pride, love, joy and happiness. What impressed me the most was the mentality my players showed, and they will need that mental strength once again for another tough fight tonight.

We are facing a different Liverpool side to the one we played in September. They have recruited well at the beginning of this year, and it is no coincidence they have picked up wins since then.

On their day they can hurt any team in this division - they showed that against Chelsea in the opening game of the campaign.

However, they will be facing a very different Everton side, too.

I have been so impressed with the maturity and development of my squad this season.

Not only as professional athletes, but the way they have conducted themselves as people has filled me with a lot pride.

We have an excellent squad who are all pulling in the same direction, who continue to move this club into a positive direction and I am excited for what the future brings with this group of players.

When it comes to matches against your rivals, form goes out the window.

Our girls were frustrated that we were not able to get more than a point against Leicester City in our last outing. Meanwhile, Liverpool will be eager to rectify their loss against us earlier this season.

Both teams come in with added fuel in their motivation and I believe it will make for an even more exciting encounter.

For ourselves, we must keep a calm head. It could be an end-to-end game and we will be ready to match their intensity come the first whistle.

Of course, tonight’s match will be played under the floodlights which I feel adds to the spectacle that this fixture brings.

From my own experience of managing teams in the Champions League, an evening fixture brings a different and unique energy to a game.

But we saw at Anfield how iconic moments are made when the lights are shone above us. Tonight has the potential to be special.

My final message to you, our fans, is this.

Our success is only achievable when we get the support from those who matter the most.

I have seen how special nights at Goodison Park can be: the noise, the electricity in the air. Our players will thrive off that.

This ground is full of history. It is our time to write some more.

Enjoy the game,

Brian