In typically modest fashion, Carlo Ancelotti made it sound so simple.
As simple as James Rodriguez makes playing football.
According to the Everton manager, all the Colombian needs in order to be at his best is, firstly, the opportunity to be in the team and then the right amount of motivation.
Easy-peasy.
But there is one more thing that Everton and Ancelotti need to do in order to keep getting the best out of Rodriguez – manage his workload with extra special care.
If the Blues are to fulfil their early season potential and secure a spot in Europe for next season, then the 29-year-old needs to play as many of the 38 Premier League games as possible.
Inside four appearances, he has made himself vital to this team. His touch, his class, his vision, his range of passing....his quality has helped elevate Everton's attack.
Fans of other teams, who perhaps have not watched more than the potted highlights, may look at the raw stats, see one goal and an assist and wonder if too much of a fuss is being made of him.
The fuss is justified and what Rodriguez has done, on a number of occasions, is make the assist before the assist, the pass before the pass or, as modern footy stats aficionados say, the pre-assist.
He did it against West Brom, he did it against Crystal Palace and again against West Ham on Wednesday night.
In basic terms, he is making stuff happen.
He has instantly become a huge part of the team, having made the fourth highest number of touches in the side and the most of any attacking player in the squad.
So far, he's three appearances from three in the league and is expected to start against Brighton later today but what has to be taken into consideration, and what Ancelotti will be mindful of, is that since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, only twice has he played 38 games or more – and that's in all competitions.
In his first season at Real Madrid, under Ancelotti, he started 29 La Liga games and played 46 times overall.
A broken bone in his foot, a calf problem and a one-game suspension, prevented him from playing every single league game for the Spanish giants but since then a variety of factors have meant Rodriguez has made 26, 22, 23, 20 and eight appearances in successive league campaigns.
Much of that run has been down to a lack of opportunity, as he fell out of favour, but he also has suffered with a frustrating run of injuries, forcing him to miss – on average – 11 games a season since 2014.
Of course, looking at his injury record in those terms is a little misleading in that Real and Bayern Munich play more games a season than most clubs but he has, for sure, seen hopes of consistency interrupted by time spent on the treatment table.
What it has to mean for Everton is that he is carefully handled throughout the season.
Wrap him up in cotton wool? Not so much but it can't be long before Rodriguez begins to receive some of the treatment Richarlison has endured from Premier League defenders over the past couple of seasons and so while referees need to make sure he is protected, the Blues know the game in this country is more physically demanding than most and how it can easily take its toll.
Especially in a season that is being condensed into less time than usual.
Rodriguez was a surprise inclusion in the midweek cup team, playing the full match, and is expected to start this afternoon.
It will be the first time he's played three club matches in a week since February 2019, when at Bayern.
Add into the mix that he is named in Colombia's squad for two World Cup qualifiers – the second of which takes place in the early hours of the morning a week on Wednesday, three days before the derby is scheduled and over 7,000 miles away in Santiago, Chile – and the club have further complications in keeping him fit and fresh.
Asked by a Colombian journalist at his pre-match press conference yesterday, Ancelotti was hopeful that he could recover in time for the game with Liverpool but said, if not, then he would start on the bench.
Nobody wants that. Rodriguez has too much talent, ability and influence over this team, for him to start a derby in the dugout.
But the challenge is ensuring he is in the right condition to be in the line-up that day.
Picking him is the easy part for Ancelotti and keeping him motivated too, looks like being straightforward, but it's how they manage his importance to the team, amid everything that has brought him to this point, that is key.
Of course, when you dictate a Premier League game, like he did against West Brom, without even making a single sprint, then Rodriguez will have every right to feel confident about making it 38 out of 38 this season, but Ancelotti knows games won't always be played at his pace.
And so if everything is going to plan at Goodison this afternoon, then don't be surprised to see Rodriguez be substituted before the end of the game.
