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Cape Town - Everton defender Michael Keane has praised manager Marco Silva for helping the Toffees reach peak fitness for the Premier League season.
Silva's men kicked off their 2018/19 league campaign with a 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, which is an admirable result considering the Merseysiders played over 50 minutes with only 10 men, following Phil Jagielka's red card.
Keane has revealed that the Everton players are relishing the tactical nature of Silva's training sessions and enjoying the fun elements that the manager has incorporated as well.
"The manager is very hands-on," Keane told the club's official website.
"He does everything himself. He is tactically very good, and I think he's got us very fit over pre-season.
"I think our results weren't the best over pre-season, but the opening day was the one that mattered, and our fitness levels were really good.
"I think that's testament to him and the staff for the training we've done.
"I think all the lads are loving the training - it's exciting, it's fun but also it's very tactical which is what you need.
"He wants us to try to win the ball in the opponents' half and keep them under pressure.
"It's obviously more difficult to do that with 10 men, sometimes you've just got to shuffle and keep your shape, but I think you'll see more of that from us in the future."
The Merseyside Blues welcome Southampton to Goodison Park for their first home game of the season.
Kick-off is at 16:00 (SA time).
