Hungry To Deliver

Yorkshire duo Mason Holgate and Dominic Calvert-Lewin discuss facing off as youngsters, remaining level-headed through highs and lows and Everton’s determination for a positive run of form…

- Peter Lennox

First of all, what sort of test do you expect Everton to face against Chelsea at Goodison Park today?

MH: They’ve had a very good start to the season and we’re expecting a tough game, there’s no doubt about that. But we’ve shown before we have the quality to beat the top teams at Goodison and we’re focussed on showing that again.

DCL: Chelsea have got a lot of good young footballers, of course, but we’ll go into the game with the belief we can take the three points and move up the table.

We will have a game plan and it is up to us to execute that. We’re all hungry to get a positive result, send the fans home happy and start a good run of results at Goodison again.

Everton have had some tough results this season. How important is it to stay strong mentally during that period?

MH: It’s important to not get too high when you win or too low when you lose.

The table is very tight – a couple of good results can lift you up a few positions.

You’ve just got to be ready for the next game and prepare as well as you possibly can.

DCL: It’s important to try to stay in a steady mental state. I agree with what Mason said – you can’t get carried away when you’re winning or too down when you lose.

For any young player, being mentally tough is a skill in itself and I think I’ve got a lot better in that respect.

As players, we’re the only ones who can affect what happens on the pitch and it’s important to retain that confidence in ourselves.