Hard work, fan selfies and the Backstreet Boys

Hard work, fan selfies and the Backstreet Boys - how Everton kickstarted their US tour

Everton once again split their training sessions on Thursday in a bid to protect the players from the worst of the heat.

The temperature in Washington DC is hitting the high 20s by mid-morning and just standing still in the sunshine can be exhausting. Not that the players are getting any respite, however. The squad is being worked hard this week as Frank Lampard and his coaching staff look to build strength and fitness for the season ahead.

Much was made of the injury issues suffered by Everton last year and Lampard and his team both inherited pre-existing knocks and were victim to new ones. The summer break now offers a chance to rebuild and the fitness staff are hopeful they can help make the players more resilient with a full pre-season working with them.

After having to fight to survive at the end of the season, now it is about building strength and providing the foundations that will enable the players to cope with the upcoming schedule. Several players have genuinely impressed the staff with the condition in which they returned from the summer break.

Among those is Dominic Calvert-Lewin and in Thursday morning's open training session he looked incredibly sharp. Yerry Mina was repeatedly praised for his distribution in the players' mini-matches and Dele Alli was a handful. That session took place in front of an audience and there is genuine media interest in Everton's presence here. The Washington Post was in attendance alongside the Baltimore Sun and other outlets and TV networks as Calvert-Lewin, Alex Iwobi and Mina were among those who impressed in the training drills. At the moment those exercises are largely centred on building fitness through football.

There is nothing easy about the training. Andros Townsend was the most visible proof of this as he caught the attention - and plaudits - of passing Seamus Coleman as his rehab focused on resistance work on the touch line. Townsend looked determined to do everything in his power to return as strongly as possibly.

The players have been training at a facility in Virginia this week, about 20 minutes outside Washington DC - a drive that crosses the Potomac River and passes the high-security Pentagon defence complex. While they are enjoying the calm before demands on them are notched up, no-one is turning down approaches from supporters.

Dozens of US-based Everton fans were at Thursday morning training and the players made themselves available after their session - posing for pictures, stopping for chats and making the visitors feel welcome. It was the same in the squad's hotel back in DC on Wednesday night - the hotel they briefly shared with the Backstreet Boys earlier this week.

The players were late back from training, returning just after their scheduled 7pm dinner and following their second gruelling training exercise of the day. But a young Blues fan waiting for them in the foyer had an album full of images after every player - and Frank Lampard - stopped and posed with him. Thursday night will see the players' public duties increase. Leon Osman will throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' baseball game - which he could be seen practising for after the first team training session on Thursday.

When told of this duty his response was apparently to ask how far he would have to throw the ball. The answer appeared to have prompted a desire to prepare. At the same time, Lampard and a selection of players will participate in a fan event at the Howard Theatre - where legends including Marvin Gaye, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington have previously performed. After that the show will move to Baltimore and preparation for the first pre-season game, against Arsenal.

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