Marco Silva believes the visit of West Ham ‘will be a turning point’ for Everton.
Saturday’s early kick-off at Goodison Park sees Silva facing renewed pressure after presiding over just two wins from his opening eight Premier League games.
The Blues currently sit inside the relegation zone and another defeat would see them facing a similar scenario which led to Ronald Koeman’s exit two years ago.
But while Silva is under no illusions of the importance of the Londoners’ visit, he anticipates
“I think some of us we know really well how Everton Football Club is,” he told Click Liverpool.
“How they are really patient fans as well [and] if we do our job really well, they will be behind us for the full game.
“It’s a game for us [that] we need them to be with the team since the first minute.
“During the game we will have tough moments for sure because the opponent have the quality for sure. We are playing against a team with a high quality as well.
“It’s at those moments that they have to be patient but what they want is 100 per cent commitment in our team, demanding from ourselves [and] playing to win the match is everything that they want.
“Togetherness tomorrow will be key for us to win the game because it’s what we want [but] it’s not the end of the world. A football match is a football match.
“I believe tomorrow will be a turning point for us with the support of our fans, with a good performance and a win.”
Everton head into the lunchtime clash with the Hammers with Fabian Delph doubtful in a week of gloomy injury news for the club’s midfield department.
Summer arrival Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s return to action has been pushed back a further three months by a training ground relapse which required surgery.
Andre Gomes previously spent four weeks on the sidelines with a rib injury, forcing the Toffees to rely on Morgan Schnelderlin to fild the void in his absence.
And Silva admits that the disruption to midfield has not helped his side successfully overcome Idrissa Gueye’s switch to Paris Saint-Germain.
“It had a big impact,” admitted the Everton manager.
“In the last 15 days [of the window] we lost a key player in that role for us. But it’s not to talk more about him because he is in the starting XI for PSG.
“We signed two very good players for that position, different profiles.
“We signed a player like Fabian who is helping and will help us more but he’s a different profile as a player. It’s possible [for him] to play in the different role as well.
“After it came the injuries; the first one was Fabian during pre-season and in the first matches of the league – and after that JP and Andre.
“It was almost impossible to play two games with the same three players in the middle.
“Of course it’s tough. It’s a crucial area of the pitch, for me it’s really crucial like it’s crucial the striker position.
“I have to agree (injuries have played a part) but nothing more to do now [than] to work with the players we have.
“When all of them will be ready, we will be stronger with more time for them to work. It will be better decision for us as well but now is what it is and [about] the players we have.
“We don’t find excuses. it’s better for us to find solutions, to give solutions to them to win the games. But it’s a fact that it’s a reality.”