Silva: Winning The Best Way To Boost Blues' Confidence

Marco Silva believes a win over Bournemouth this weekend is the best way for his players to gain a confidence boost as they aim to propel themselves up the Premier League table.

Everton return to top-flight action this weekend, with Eddie Howe’s Cherries visiting Goodison Park on Sunday (2.15pm kick-off).

Boss Silva is hopeful the FA Cup triumph over Lincoln City last Saturday can prove the catalyst for a positive run of form, with the Blues having already displayed their capacity to embark on a series of impressive results this season.

Five victories and two draws in the space of eight Premier League matches between September and November saw Everton move to within touching distance of the top six.

Despite a difficult festive period, the Toffees remain just four points behind Leicester City in seventh position.

Silva has now challenged his side to build on their Cup victory and consistently showcase their quality.

“Winning matches is the best way to win confidence and to start playing again at our best level,” he told evertontv. “We have already shown that this season.

“The best way to show it [our quality] is by the results and the wins.

“We achieved the main thing against Lincoln and we have to work strongly again to achieve a good result in the next match.

“We want our players playing with the same confidence - because I know that when we play with confidence we will be better, for sure, and show our quality again.”

Last weekend’s Cup success saw the Blues set up an fourth-round FA Cup tie at Millwall, with the game to be played over the weekend commencing 26 January.

Silva underlined Everton’s determination to go deep in the competition – emphasising he is aware of the esteem the FA Cup is held in by the Club’s supporters.

The Toffees are five-time winners of the trophy, having lifted it in 1906, 1933, 1966, 1984 and 1995.

“We saw against Lincoln, when the stadium was sold out, how much the competition means to them,” he said. “I want to again say thank you to our fans for that.

“We knew before the match, but that shows us how much they enjoy the competition and how important it is to them.

“We need this type of atmosphere every time to push our players to win the match. They are really important for us.”