Leighton Baines has opened up on what he tells his Everton's new recruits when they join the club.
The full-back is the Blues' longest serving player after Phil Jagielka rejoined boyhood club Sheffield United following his release in June.
Baines, who signed a new one-year deal with the club in the summer, joined Everton from Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2007, and after initially struggling to nail down a place in his side's starting line-up, the left-back has since go on to establish himself as one of Premier League's most respected defenders.
And with Everton once again going big in this summer's transfer window, with Andre Gomes, Jonas Lossl, Fabian Delph, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Moise Kean, Djibril Sidibe and Alex Iwobi all arriving at Goodison Park.
Baines, who became the first defender to reach 50 Premier League assists in April 2017, has lifted the lid on what advice he gives the club's new recruits.
"It's a great group of people at the Club right now," Baines told St. Domingo magazine .
"All I can say to the new players is, "If you are out there and they see you putting the work in, they will give you a chance".
"That was always the thing for me: if Evertonians know you are playing for them, you will get a chance. Whether that's the fans or the people in the medical room or Jimmy Martin and the lads in the kit room, if you're grafting, they'll take to you.
"They were always the people I wanted to impress and in a mad way, I still do."
