James McCarthy has relished every second of the “big jump” up he has faced in learning to cope with the demands of European competition for the first time.And after returning to full fitness following a nagging hamstring injury, the 24-year-old can’t wait to be let off the leash for Everton against Young Boys tomorrow night.
McCarthy has featured in four of the Blues’ Europa League games this season but was withdrawn after half an hour of the game with Wolfsburg in November.
The Republic of Ireland international did not return to the side until late December but then suffered a further set-back that kept him sidelined until earlier this month.
But after revamping all aspects of his training regime and preparation, McCarthy says he is now back for good – and ready to help drive Everton into the last 16 of the Europa League.
McCarthy was brought to English football from the Scottish Premier League and says playing on the continent has demanded he perform at an even higher level than he would in domestic competition.
“It’s a big jump, no disrespect to the SPL,” he said.
“It’s similar to the Premier League but more tactical at times because you are trying to break teams down and I’ve loved every minute of it so far and it’s about the team now to be honest.
“It’s about coming here and putting in a good performance, a good show and there’s still two legs to go and no matter what happens, we go back to Goodison and we need to put on a show again.”
McCarthy added: “It is obviously a big competition.
“We knew last season, when we were pushing for the European places, we wanted to get in the Champions League places, but unfortunately we fell short of that but it was a massive achievement for the club. We’re delighted to be involved in this competition and it’s so far, so good.
“We’ve done well but we won’t get carried away, this is another big test for us. We want to go as far as we can, you qualify for the Champions League if you go on to win it.
“But we won’t get ahead of ourselves yet. It’s a big game tomorrow night, especially on the plastic pitch and we’ll give it our best shot.”
McCarthy says Blues boss Roberto Martinez has left no stone unturned in their preparation for Thursday night’s tie with Young Boys.
“We’ve been watching clips and videos of them all week, we know they’re a good side,” he said.
“The gaffer has gone down to every detail, we’ve studied the videos.
“It’s not going to be easy, it’s on a plastic pitch that they play on every second week.
“We know they’re a good side, we’ll go out there and try and get the result we need and go back to Goodison and take it from there.”
By Phil Kirkbride, Liverpool Echo
