Everton ace Tim Cahill has called on the clubs loyal supporters to get behind them ahead of their season opener on the weekend. The Toffees' first scheduled match against Tottenham was postponed last weekend because of civil unrest in the North London area but the Merseysiders will be in action when newcomers QPR travel to Goodison Park on Saturday.
Cahill says it is vital that the Everton fans get along to support the club in their opening Premier League match ahead of what could be another positive season for the Toffees.
"We need the fans to get behind us," Cahill told evertontv. "It is difficult for the fans sometimes but as players our main objective is to go out and do our best for them.
"The fans may have wished or wanted for players to come in but there is also good news in that we have kept all our best players and the squad is not too different from last season where we all said we would finish in Europe and really push on.
"We want to see the fans happy and confident. When you are a true Blue you fight to the end and that is the main thing. We know they are always behind us and it makes it that bit more special when you run out and you know everyone is pulling in the same direction."
He added: "It was sad the game did not go ahead last week but now it is QPR for us and it is all about trying to make a good start. They didn't have the best of games first up (4-0 loss at Bolton) and I am sure they will be looking to put that right straight away against us.
"We have been waiting a while to get going but if we can get that good start that has been elusive these past few years then it will stand us in good stead for the games we have coming up.
"The players are excited and, for us it is pretty much the same squad as last year, and everyone is happy to be back together. We had a good pre-season, played some good football at times and trained really hard. A good few of us had a proper rest this summer which was also a positive.
"Overall it has been energising. There is a good feeling in the squad and now it is exciting to have our first game at home. It will be great to see Goodison rocking on Saturday.
"This week has been good. We have trained a lot harder and put in the work because it is not always the best thing to start off a game behind. At the same time it has given us a chance to work on a few other things and we feel ready for QPR.
"We are just concentrating on ourselves. They have lost 4-0 and they will be looking to put that right straight away. That could be a negative for us but we have had a good look at them, we will assess their strengths and weaknesses and look to open them up on the weekend."
