Jake O’Brien talks about adapting to his new role over the past year

A year ago, Jake O’Brien’s Everton career looked completely different.

Signed from French giants Olympique Lyon, the Irish centre-back was barely included in Sean Dyche’s plans and had just 34 minutes of Premier League action to his name before heading into Christmas.

However, the arrival of David Moyes in January changed things completely. O’Brien came off the bench for the first match of Moyes’ second stint before starting against Tottenham Hotspur the same week.

However, the interaction was played from a right back position. Described by Moyes as a ‘hybrid’ full-back, ‘sometimes playing as a full-back and sometimes playing further in [centrally]”, O’Brien has since become an integral part of the boss’s plans.

“It’s a lot different now to where I was 12 months ago,” said O’Brien, who played in 18 of 19 games last season after Moyes’ arrival, starting 17th and missing just one through injury.

“I’m happy to be part of the team. When you’re not playing it’s hard to enjoy it because you don’t feel part of it.”

“As long as you’re playing and for me, even if you’re a right-back, you’re still going to stay on top of it and keep improving because you’re on the pitch.

“Of course eventually I would like to play as a centre-back again week in, week out, but as long as I play I will be happy.”

The Irish international has had to make a lot of effort over the past year to get used to his new role. He has had long individual sessions with Moyes and with Everton’s new Head of Sports Science/Performance, Nick Davies, who joined from Spurs this summer.

The 6-foot-4 defender, with his gigantic frame, has had to work a lot on his positioning and agility to hold his own against the league’s wingers, many of whom are much faster and smaller than O’Brien.

“In the beginning it was more about learning where exactly to stand on the pitch because it’s different from being a centre-back,” the 24-year-old added.

‘Then with Nick [Davies]who came in, I’ve been working on my footwork and getting quick feet.

“We do a lot of that in training anyway, but when we don’t have games during the week we also do our one-on-one sessions and that has been a focus for me.

“Everyone knows my size and I’m dealing with small, tricky wingers, so it’s important to have quick feet, and then put it all together and a lot of one-on-one stuff in the scenarios you face in a match.”

Please note: The following content is not moderated or controlled by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()

How to get rid of these ads and support TW

© ToffeeWeb