Jonjoe Kenny could be given a first chance to impress Carlo Ancelotti in competitive action tonight and says: "I need to go out there and perform".
Kenny watched an "outstanding" defensive performance against Spurs, in the opening game of the season, from the touchline as Ancelotti picked Seamus Coleman ahead of him at right-back.
But the 23-year-old is believed to be in the frame to play against Salford City this evening in the second round of the Carabao Cup at Goodison.
Kenny has returned to Everton after spending last season on loan with Schalke in the Bundesliga but was only named on the bench at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Yet the Academy product looks likely to get a chance to stake a claim tonight.
"It’s up to the manager, whoever plays, but I always prepare for games the same way," Kenny said.
"It doesn’t matter if it’s a friendly, a pre-season game or a competitive game – I prepare the same way.
"I need to go out there and perform. Whenever you’re playing, you have always got to give your best because if you don’t, you’ll come unstuck. That showed in pre-season.
"Against Blackpool, we weren’t at our best straight away and they put three goals past us, and that’s what can happen in football. For me, from the off, it’s about being focused and you’ve got to do what you’re good at."
Kenny added: "I thought we were outstanding, especially defensively, the way we set up, and I think the new signings looked very comfortable, particularly coming into their first Premier League game in the cases of James and Allan.
"I thought they were brilliant, and I thought the whole team was [brilliant] defensively.
"We had that confidence on the ball to go and get more goals and could have scored a couple more if we had been a bit more clinical.
"Of course, it’s only the first game, we don’t want to get carried away and there’s a lot more to learn, but it was a really good start."
