Silva: “Everton has an identity, give 100%, your blood inside the pitch”

With just a handful of game left in an underwhelming season for Everton, manager Marco Silva has issued some rousing comments that should get his players’ amped up. That is, if any of them still care.

The manager has had a rocky beginning to his career, rolling through six different jobs over eight years and though his dismissals have all been slightly different from the previous, the doubts over his commitment and ability to weather rocky patches has come under question.

Silva did say though that Farhad Moshiri’s vision for the Blues is part of the reason why he’s here.

“It’s [stability] really important and that’s why I joined Everton. When I came here I didn’t have any doubts. The owner showed me the idea, I analysed it and realised it was something I needed for my career – a project, something to build.

“I think the club also needs to stick with one idea. The stability I need the club also needs. Being a manager is more than a job. It’s my passion. From the moment I wake up in the morning it’s my passion.”

He went on to add that there was still something to play for, at least in his books.

“Everton has an identity. Give 100 per cent. Your blood inside the pitch. That’s our obligation. We have many things to achieve as a team before the end of the season.

“We are doing our work and preparing and planning everything. The most important thing for me as a manager and us as a club is to always prepare well for the next game and our full focus is on West Ham.

“It is really important to perform well for the rest of the season. Not just to improve our position in the table, that ambition [in our performances] is everything I want as a manager and we want as a club.

“We want to make the fans proud and for them to go home after the matches with a good feeling.”

The Portuguese is impressed by the supporters who have turned out in numbers, roaring the team on at Goodison Park.

“We want the fans to enjoy what they are seeing. Even in some moments when we did not achieve good results but they felt we did everything we could, they gave us a good reception.

“Against Manchester City, we did not achieve a good result but the supporters’ reaction was fantastic. It is everything we want to give them [pride in their team’s display].

“If they go home with good feelings, it means we did our job well on the pitch. And when you do your job well, the good results come.

“We showed in the past few games – apart from 30 minutes [at Newcastle] – how we can perform. We have to keep doing this and showing that desire and putting our full focus on the pitch.

“And we want to play with more consistency.”

Today will be the first away game since that Newcastle debacle, so let’s see if the players can respond.