I love this period at Christmas, especially as a fan. I’ve been there as a player and it can be a difficult time.
You want to spend it with your family but you’re also doing a job that you absolutely love..
Back as a fan now, I was disappointed the game got postponed for selfish reasons because it’s a Christmas tradition that you just love.
Going to watch the Blues on Boxing Day, it’s always one of the first games you look for when the fixtures are announced.
It’s one that all the fans would've been looking forward to, no matter what the lineup was going to be. The fans would have travelled in massive numbers and supported the boys.
Unfortunately the game was called off and rightly so.
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We’ve got issues at our football club with covid and many injuries, so this break is massively going to benefit us as a club and as a team. The players will have time to spend with their family, rest, recover.
The guys who are coming back from injury, it gives them a few more days training under their belts and not get forced into coming back too early.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin being a prime example. If he was forced to play on Boxing Day, we don’t really want to be risking Dominic for the short-term because he might suffer later on in the season.
Moving forward, we’ve got two quick games back-to-back at Goodison Park and they’ll want to start the New Year off on the right foot.
First up is Newcastle. We know what’s going on at Newcastle, I think a lot of their players will be looking at the papers and thinking about who they’re going to bring in in January.
We’ve just got to focus on ourselves and make sure we do a job. Make sure we do play the Everton way.
I’ve got to give Rafa Benitez credit for the way he went about the game against Chelsea and we’ve just got to have that togetherness again. All the fans will be there, bouncing.
When a manger’s plan works for you and it clicks, the players take it onboard and understand what’s coming across from coaches.
We’ve seen our performances being slow and sloppy and lethargic at times.
I think when we’re under the cosh, that’s when we’re at our best. When we are the underdogs and we need to fight for each other that’s when you see the best of Everton.
The manager said after the game that we’ve got to be together - as a club and a fanbase - but the players can also see that if they don’t do their job they cannot help their teammate out.
I took a lot of positives from the second-half against Chelsea, that the players worked hard for each other and they left it all out there under difficult circumstances.
But they should be like that every game. That’s the way forward and that should be happening week in, week out.
It’s been a perfect storm, what’s happened at Everton so far this season.
Players have been in and out with injuries and we've had to take each game as it comes and jigsaw a team together.
But the lads have got to keep going, keep trying, keep working for each other, help each other out and fingers crossed we’ll start to win football games.
We’ve got a huge opportunity with back-to -back games at Goodison to get six points and put a bit of a smile on our face.
Hopefully we can see the light at the end of the tunnel for what’s been a difficult campaign so far and the final half of the season can start being a bit more positive.
