'Look beyond it' - Dominic Calvert-Lewin sends Everton supporters a powerful message for the future

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has asked Everton’s loyal but long-suffering supporters to stick with the team as despite a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, the striker has backed the team to turn around their flagging fortunes. Calvert-Lewin’s second goal in as many matches put the Blues 2-0 up at Aston Villa but just as they’d done at home to Bournemouth in their previous fixture, they surrendered their advantage to lose 3-2.

Asked if he had a message for the fans, the 27-year-old said: “Stick with us. The travelling support was excellent here as it always is. I know how they’ll be feeling at the moment, as I’m feeling the same way, but I think if you look beyond it, we can take positives and take confidence from the performances that we have put in the last couple of games.

“It’s not been the start that we’d all hoped for but it’s a long season and I’m pretty sure we’ll put it right.”

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Despite doubling his goal tally for the season, Calvert-Lewin spurned a big chance to put Everton 3-1 up when one-on-one with Emiliano Martinez, allowing Ezri Konsa to get a last ditch tackle in when attempting to round the Villa keeper while he also rattled the crossbar with a shot after his side had fallen behind. The striker admitted that he and his team-mates need to be sharper at both ends of the pitch.

He said: “We’re hurting a lot. I think the last two games are very frustrating to not taken points and I’ve said before at this level you get punished for your mistakes and lapses in concentration and we have to concentrate for 100, maybe 105 minutes we play these days.

“When you don’t, you get punished, so we accept responsibility. We won’t dwell on it for too long although it hurts because we have to go again on Tuesday.

“We are creating chances, I’m getting chances to score, obviously in the last two games, for a striker that’s my job. I could have had a couple more here which I accept responsibility for as I always do, but I think there are a lot of positives to take despite the result and we just have to concentrate as I say for the full duration of the game and we can’t switch off and concede silly goals.”

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Everton manager Sean Dyche has always maintained that the only league table that matters is the final one and despite the poor start this term, having steered the club to safety last season, finishing with five consecutive home victories, despite two points deductions and a record-breaking winless run in the Premier League, Calvert-Lewin believes the Blues boss is crucial for keeping everyone on the level. He said: “Yes, he doesn’t get too high and too low. On the downs, never to low, on the highs, never too high so that filters into the rest of the group.

“We are disappointed, of course we are, but we are professionals and we’ve been playing long enough to know you can’t dwell on it for too long. We’ve got another game on Tuesday and another Premier League game next weekend and I’m looking forward to the next game, full of confidence and I’m pretty sure we’ll put it right.”

After a couple of injury plagued seasons before Dyche’s arrival, the Everton manager endeavoured to leave no stone unturned when it came to curing Calvert-Lewin of his fitness problems and after what the Sheffield-born player himself described as a “factory reset” ahead of last season, he went on to turn out 39 times in all competitions. Having started all of the Blues’ Premier League matches so far this term, netting twice in four games, Calvert-Lewin believes he is in a good place from a physical perspective.

He said: “I feel great. I feel great in my body, covering grass, causing problems up the top of the pitch, that’s my job, it’s what I’m good at. So it’s about doing that on a consistent basis, taking my chances when they come and breeding confidence into the rest of the team by leading the line well.”