Doucouré on his “dream start”

Abdoulaye Doucouré has described Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Tottenham as a dream start to his Everton career.

“I think it is a dream start for all of us new signings,” said Doucoure,

“They [James and Allan] are great players, the team has very good players and, of course, with the signings of James and Allan, it is a big bonus for us this year.

“It was a tough start but we got our first win. We need to keep going that way and I’m sure we are going to achieve good things this season.”

“I trained only three times with the team but I kept my shape and condition to be ready for the game.

Doucouré also spoke of his intention to repay the faith Carlo Ancelotti has shown in him.

“I am very happy. I have a good physical shape and the manager has a lot of trust in me – I need to give him back that trust on the pitch. 

“We worked very hard today. The week [in the lead-up] was brilliant – the manager was very focused on this game. We were very happy to have the win at the end.

“It is just the start but it was a great win against a big team. We need to keep that way and, in the end, we are going to achieve what we want.”