Vitalii Mykolenko has explained how he sees some of the older defenders in Everton’s squad as father figures. In July, the Mirror quoted the Ukraine international as revealing how his father was working in a military unit back in his homeland following the military invasion by Russia but almost 1,800 miles away on Merseyside, the 23-year-old explains how he is picking up tips on Premier League football from his more experienced team-mates.
Many of those who frequent Goodison Park on a regular basis will be familiar with the Scouse term of ‘ Everton Da’ and it seems as though Frank Lampard might have actually signed a couple of them over the summer. Speaking on the influence that James Tarkowski and Conor Conor have brought to the squad, Mykolenko told evertonfc.com : “They really are like dads!
“Tarky and I speak a lot on the pitch because we play next to each other –he's a great guy. Sometimes he uses some slang I can’t understand – but we always get our points across because we both understand football.
“Coady has given us big confidence as well. He speaks a lot in the dressing room and he's great for us and our team. Also, he speaks slower than Tarky, so it's a bit easier for me to understand.”
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Mykolenko also has a couple of great tutors at his disposal when it comes to full-back play in the shape of club captain Seamus Coleman and first team coach Ashley Cole. He said: “Seamie is a big captain and a fantastic human.
“I watch how he plays all of the time. When we played at Southampton last week, he’s a big help and he gives me confidence on the pitch – and he's a great defender.
“Straight after this interview we our having a meeting (with Cole). We speak a lot about my game, about my body shape, my movements... I watch clips of Ashley when he used to play for Chelsea and study them.
“He was aggressive and I want to be like he was – I want to play more in attack. In the last games, I didn’t play well in attack and he was one of the best in that sense.”
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