Marco Silva urges Everton fans to remain grounded despite unbeaten Premier League start
Everton have four points from two games and have been playing a positive brand of football
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Your support makes all the difference.Marco Silva has stressed that Everton must keep their feet firmly on the ground after a good start to his time at Goodison Park.
The standard of football has been impressing the fans as much as the four points in the Premier League after a sour six months with Sam Allardyce in charge.
This upturn in confidence at the club has seen the manager move to make sure fans keep their expectations in check at this early stage despite such a positive start.
"I don't give a chance for my players to be big optimists, I want them to be confident in what they are doing but working hard every day to compete," he said.
"Of course I understand we performed well but it is just two games and nothing more.
"This week we work hard again to prepare the next game and we have to prove again how good you are to compete at a high level.
"Everything starts now. We have a process to do but it is important for us to take the results to support everything we are doing here."
Central to the positive start is the more successful transfer strategy. Last season Everton cast their net wide and threw money at almost every available number ten, however a more considered summer window has meant they have a better squad to start the season.
Richarlison has been key to the recent performances and is working his way towards justifying his hefty £40m price tag by leading the goal scoring charts alongside Sergio Aguero and Sadio Mane with three goals.
Silva was keen to reunite with the former Watford winger and says he expected him to see him start well.
"It is not a surprise for me," said the Portuguese, who takes his side to Bournemouth on Saturday.
"We know he can score in important moments but it is also everything he can do for us as a squad, how he can support the team with the ball and without the ball.
"Even if he didn't score in the last match or against Wolves, he did well, he worked well and this is important for me."
Davy Klaassen and Wayne Rooney’s departure has allowed Gylfi Sigurdsson to claim the number ten role as his own, and his performance in Everton’s 2-1 win against Southampton justified Silva’s decision to make him the main man in midfield.
"He was fantastic, I saw him really enjoying the game both because of what he was doing on the ball, and because he did fantastic without the ball, too," Silva said.
"It was important to grow his confidence. He prepared himself for everything, he prepared his body and mind, and he works during the week.
"With the ball, of course, he is a player with high quality, and when he can find the right space - and he did in the last game - he can be decisive and do something important for us.
"And he created moments between the lines, moments to cross or pass the ball for his team-mates at the right times."
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