"You've got to be hungry," David Moyes said.
"You've got to be someone with a desire and an energy but I think you've also got to have that style about you where you can play.
"You're under pressure here. The crowd are demanding but I think they also want to see that you're committed. Over the years we had really committed teams."
The former Blues boss was speaking at the end of 2018 when asked what makes an ideal Everton player.
Hunger. Desire. Energy. Style. Commitment.
Six months ago, following an insipid away defeat at Watford, these words were haunting Marco Silva's reign.
Everton were lacking the five traits identified by Moyes and had been for some time.
But the current iteration of players, most who featured in the loss at Vicarage Road, are the closest to matching the relationship shared with supporters since the Scot's reign ended in 2013.
Lucas Digne, Bernard and Andre Gomes are active on social media in showing their appreciation while Richarlison, despite being just 22, is often found interacting with Blues on matchday.
It's 194 days since defeat at Silva's former club but the change could not be more amplified.
Everton have lost just two games since, conceding seven goals in 13 matches and recording ten shut-outs.
Hunger. Desire. Energy. Style. Commitment.
Every player who has appeared this season has ticked at least one of those boxes and more. Yerry Mina, revitalised after a summer break, has shown the form that persuaded Farhad Moshiri to press ahead with his £30m transfer from Barcelona.
Jordan Pickford, too, looks every inch the England international who helped the Three Lions to a World Cup semi-final and Michael Keane continues to impress.
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But the real man behind Everton's revitalisation faced real questions several months go.
Silva, following another mid-season dip, didn't seem to know how to stop the rot.
He has answered the critics emphatically.
Everton head to Villa Park tomorrow in their healthiest position since Roberto Martinez's first season in charge of the club.
A potential crisis has been expertly manoeuvred into a renaissance that will no doubt have left the Premier League's top six looking over their shoulder after savvy transfer activity.
