Sam Allardyce has warned Everton’s fringe players they must prove themselves worthy of a place in his squad.
The Blues boss has been consistent with his team selections since his arrival at Goodison Park, rarely changing his starting line up or substitutes.
That consistency has aided his side who are now unbeaten in five games following the 3-1 win over Swansea City and just six points outside the top six.
It has, however, meant that some players, such as Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez have had little to no opportunities to impress their new manager.
Oumar Niasse was the latest to suffer in that regard as Sandro replaced him on the subs bench for the visit of the Swans.
With the January window looming, Allardyce plans to assess his squad in an 11-a-side game on Tuesday and urged those on the fringes to take advantage of their chance.
“I’ve got that many players I’ve got to try and see one after the other when I can.
“I’m going to put on a 11 v 11 game for 90 minutes so all the players that have not been in the squad can get on the pitch and play and show what they’ve got.
“I’m very interested in what I’m going to see from the players that can’t play.
“I pick these players all the time now, rarely making a change and one thing that really pleases me is that they’ve made it extremely difficult for me to leave them out and I haven’t.
“Full marks to them and all the players behind them are saying ‘when will I get my chance?’.
“A good squad will say to itself ‘when I get picked I will be ready’ and if they let their fitness and themselves get dragged down by not playing in games and they get the opportunity and let themselves down, they won’t get back in.”
“Everyone has got to be ready to snatch the chance when they get the opportunity.”