This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Lucas Digne has offered nothing but praise for manager Marco Silva after the win against West Ham United.

What did he say?

Digne has been one of Silva’s best players since he signed for the club in an £18m deal, winning the club’s Player of the Year award and playing his way back into the France squad. The Frenchman has made sure fans know that manager Silva has played a huge role in his development in this time.

Digne told The Liverpool Echo: “We watch videos together with the staff and if I ask to work on my crosses or defensively, he helps me a lot, he gives me advice.

“When we prepare for a game, he chooses the tactics and then he gives you the advice. When you play in the game you can see it’s the solution. He is a really good coach.

“For me he is one of the best coaches I’ve had and I am sure he can be one of the best in the world.

“You can feel that we had lost four games consecutively but everybody came with a good mentality and we saw on the pitch against West Ham that the mentality was totally different and we played very fast, with intensity, we won every challenge and we didn’t concede chances or nothing.”

Silva’s potential yet to bear fruit

Silva has certainly made a name for himself as a manager. At just 42 years old, the Portuguese has managed three Premier League clubs, although he is yet to establish himself amongst the elite in England so far.

Silva did, however, win the Greek First Division with Olympiacos, the Portuguese Cup with Sporting Lisbon and also LigaPro with Estoril Praia prior to his Hull City move.

At Everton thus far, the former Watford man has averaged just 1.46 points per match, after averaging 1.12 with the Hornets and 1.23 with the Tigers. Overall, it is a fairly mediocre record in English football relative to the calibre of clubs he has managed.

Regardless of his statistics, having key players like Digne on his side will undoubtedly boost his chances of turning the ship in the right direction on Merseyside.

In the midst of such terrible results, Silva could have easily lost the respect and loyalty of his players, but the words of his captain seem to suggest he has them on side.

It is vital that the he builds on this crucial relationship as this could, after all, hold the key to his long-term future at Goodison Park.