Dwight McNeil has revealed he is aiming to develop into a proper no.10 player.
McNeil scored a second-half brace to help Everton rack up their first win of the Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The traditional winger’s shift into a more centralised role has culminated in eight goal involvements from his opening six top-flight games for Sean Dyche’s side.
But McNeil is eyeing further improvement and believes his friendship with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been beneficial in the new position for the Blues.
He said: “I enjoy playing inside because I’m always involved in the game.
“I just want to help the team when I can and I think it helps that I have a good relationship with Dom [Calvert-Lewin] off the pitch as well. I’m still learning and want to learn from the players around me and work and improve my game.
“It’s funny because me, Skip (Seamus Coleman) and Tarks (James Tarkowski) talked in the pre-season about getting my stats up and how I can do that.
“I’m happy with what I’ve got so far but I want more, I want to kick on.
“I want to help the team impact games as best I can because I want to improve for myself, help the team and see where it takes me.”
McNeil also revealed the steps he has taken to acclimatising to the no.10 role and believes confidence has been key alongside the backing of teammates and staff.
“I think it’s a lot of different things. A lot of it’s mentality, having confidence within myself,” admitted the 24-year-old.
“When you’ve got confidence with the lads around, you who believe in you and the manager and coaching staff.
“Playing centrally as well, being more involved in the game, has helped get my stats up but there’s a long way to go and I know there’s a lot of improvement.
“I want to learn more about the game, improve and help the team as best I can.
“The main thing on Saturday was getting the three points on the board and the first win of the season at Goodison Park but we’ve got to kick on.”
Everton’s maiden top-flight win of the campaign was also their first at Goodison after conceding; a run which had stretched to 36 games in all competitions.
And McNeil admits that Dyche’s players had to dig in against their visitors, who took an early lead through Marc Guehi’s prodded finish from a half-cleared set piece.
He added: “In past games where we’ve lost I think we’ve played well.
“But in the Premier League it’s all about putting points on the board because it’s the hardest league in the world.
“You can play well but if you don’t get points, there’s nothing to show for it.
“Today we did the not-nice side of the game really well. We defended really well in the second half and managed to hold on for the three points.”
Defender Jarrad Branthwaite made a long-awaited first appearance of the season against the Eagles after being sidelined by injury for the previous two months.
“I’m close with ‘Jazza’ and I know he was frustrated when he was injured,” said McNeil.
“It maybe took him a bit longer than he wanted to but the main thing is he’s young and a massive part of our squad. I’m happy to see him back.
“He’s a massive player and has a massive future ahead of him.”