Silva Faith Giving Dowell Confidence To Shine

Kieran Dowell says working with Marco Silva has given him the confidence to mix it with the first-team squad this summer.

The midfielder, 20, has been training with the new boss and his staff since the players returned on July 2, earning himself a place on pre-season trips to Austria, Portugal and France.

Prior to Saturday’s defeat to Stade Rennais, Dowell had appeared in every pre-season outing for the Blues, catching the eye with a set of composed displays.

Silva and new Director of Football Marcel Brands have both stressed their intention to continue blooding talents from the Club’s fertile youth set-up, with Callum Connolly, Matthew Pennington and Antonee Robinson also among those to have been given first-team minutes in recent weeks.

And, having showcased his talents during a successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest last season, Dowell is delighted to be getting another opportunity to shine.

“It is always good to gain confidence in pre-season using the games and it’s definitely a boost to hear the manager saying he wants to give youngsters a chance,” the England Under-21 international told evertonfc.com.

“It is a chance to put yourself forward and show the manager what you can do.

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“As a club, Everton have always looked to do that, and to hear that from the manager is brilliant.

“Jonjoe [Kenny], Tom [Davies] and loads of others had their chances last season so I was made up for them and hopefully I’ll be joining them in future.

“It was what I dreamed of when I was growing up, so that is the plan.”

Despite not posting a victory since thumping Austrian side ATV Irdning 22-0 earlier this month, Dowell says Everton’s players are relishing Silva’s “full on” approach to pre-season preparations.

Intense double sessions have become a key component of the first-team schedule since the squad reported back to USM Finch Farm, with additional training sessions even built in on the morning of games as the boss has sought to quickly impart his philosophy on his new charges.

After taking over Olympiakos in the summer of 2015, Silva led the Greek giants to a European record 17 straight wins from the opening day of the campaign, while last season his fast and attacking Watford team won four and drew three of their opening eight Premier League matches.

Everton travel to newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers for their 2018/19 curtain raiser on August 11 and avoid facing any of last season’s top six until heading to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on September 23.

“Training is full on and it’s hard graft but that’s beneficial for us," Dowell added.

“He (Silva) is great to work with - he is hands on in how he works and likes to control the training sessions.

“He is really good to talk to and you feel comfortable asking him questions so from that point of view he’s been fantastic as well.

“You could see when the gaffer was at Watford that they got off to a quick start so hopefully it can be the same for us.”