Demarai Gray believes Everton provides the right environment for him to achieve his full potential.
Excited over his prospects at the club, the 25-year-old has credited the Blues for his best moments this season, explaining: "Since I signed, Everton has felt right."
He returned to contention for the first team at the beginning of this month after recovering from a hip injury suffered in Frank Lampard's first game as manager. And as he hopes to recapture his form from earlier in the campaign, he told fans he is desperate to "excite" them.
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After signing from German side Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, Gray started his Everton career with three goals in four league matches. One of the highlights of his season was then delivered with his stunning late winner as Everton came from behind to beat Arsenal in December.
He is now determined to play an influential role in the Blues' final eight games as the side battles to stay in the Premier League - something he is hopeful of doing after returning from injury.
Gray believes that injury was the result of the demands of the first half of the season that saw him starting more often than he had over the previous two seasons - with Leicester City then Leverkusen. He started 15 times across those two years. Gray already has 31 first team appearances since joining Everton.
Speaking in an interview for the club's programme ahead of the game with Leicester on Wednesday, he said: "I was up-and-down before I came here and this season was about playing a decent number of games, getting my rhythm back and finding myself again. I’d not played consistently over the past few years and, I think, the physical aspect of the Premier League caught up with me a bit.
"West Ham [his most recent start, on April 3] was the first game after I came back when I felt fully myself, able to move freely and feeling how I do when I influence games."
Gray came off the bench to help Everton hold on for the victory over Manchester United but is hopeful of challenging for a starting place as the season comes to its climax.
He said: "It is difficult right now, but what I must take from this period is, it’s building my character. You have to find a determination within you when things are hard. There is a lot of pressure on us, but pressure isn’t something that’s ever got to me, too much.
"I am an honest player, I look at myself and my performances, I know what I need to do – I am here and will continue working, firstly for the team, then to achieve my potential. I am direct and play with speed, the fans expect me to excite and I share that expectation.
“I’d not been doing that after the injury, which is pretty normal. I needed to work to regain the strength I lost when I was out. I like to have freedom, licence to find the ball and threaten teams. I know what I can do and how I can affect games. It is me being smart enough to do that – and I need the physical side of things, so have to keep working on it."
One thing Gray is confident in is that Everton is the right place for him to deliver his best. He said: “To fulfil your own potential, you need to be in the right environment and, since I signed, Everton has felt right. Everton is a top club, that hasn’t changed... and we have a good, young manager, who – along with his staff – demands a lot from us."
