07 October 2020

Everton boss Willie Kirk ‘desperate’ to win silverware this season

Everton manager Willie Kirk has said he is ‘desperate’ for his side to win a trophy this season as he believes it will lead to them becoming dominant over the next few years.

The Toffees are still in contention for several trophies this season. They are starting their Continental League Cup campaign this evening against Manchester City, they have already secured a final spot in the FA Cup and are so far unbeaten in the Women’s Super League.

He told The Telegraph: “For us, the Conti Cup is another chance for us to win silverware. I’m desperate for this group of players to win silverware because I think it can be the catalyst to go on and have a fantastic three, four, five years ahead.

“That first piece of silverware is really important. If you speak to Nick [Cushing - the former Man City manager] for example, he talks about how important that first cup win was, and that was a Continental Cup. If you speak to Emma Hayes, she talks about how important her first cup win was.

"It doesn’t matter what competition it is, we want to bring silverware back here and that’s why we’ll prioritise every competition equally. I don’t want people talking about a top three, I want people talking about a top four now, and that includes Everton in it.”

Their fixture this evening is a preview of the FA Cup final as they will face City at Wembley on November 1 and Kirk has said Everton have nothing to lose in the final.

He added: “It’s a bit similar to the Chelsea game - if we lose it, the vast majority of the external world expects us to lose it. If we win it, we could land a psychological blow, but we’re not looking too much into it.”

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